


The Realm of the dead

by IWishIWasAwesome



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Superpowers, prince!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-03-31 07:04:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 53,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13969833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWishIWasAwesome/pseuds/IWishIWasAwesome
Summary: Two years ago, Yifan, Luhan and Tao were taken away from the Kingdom of EXO.It's EXO's mission to get them back.Fighting ensues and love finds its way.





	1. Chapter 1

Nine people of assorted origins become one to form EXO. Together, they had to defeat the Monster of Molaarg to keep their race safe. This wasn’t about war, this was about love and freedom to those who have done nothing wrong. Some spoke another language, different from the one the others grew up with. Their eyes would show emotions many could only dream about feeling. EXO used to hold twelve brothers, but three were taken, without warning or time to prepare. 

Kim Jummyeon was the second to come into existence, already knowing he would have to be something important. He was the controller of water. ‘Suho’ as his friends called him, was the leader, protecting his so-called brothers throughout his life until the very end. With jet black hair, Suho would lead his team into victory, through thick and thin.

Byun Baekhyun came soon after. He summoned light from the flick of a hand. Baekhyun was the puppy of the group, smiling when no one else could. His heart broke when the three were taken, his screams could be heard all over the kingdom. The skies had almost blinded people, as the prince of light lost control of everything in his body. 

Park Chanyeol was the next. The protector of fire. The happy virus of the group was well loved by many and looked up to by the children of the land. He made sure that families had a fire that burnt bright and was warm enough to send the children to sleep. Although frightened easily, messing with Chanyeol was a wrong decision. Deep down, a phoenix hid, ready to attack when summoned. 

Do Kyungsoo appeared suddenly, with no warning at all. He was the beast that stopped the eruptions, halted the earthquakes. He mastered the power of earth within a day. The people depended on him, and so did nature itself. Kyungsoo had witnessed the birth, and death of many animals. He was able to cook well enough to keep the other princes alive, which was his other power, according to Baekhyun.

Kim Jongin popped into existence using his own power. The boy with the power pf teleportation, moving to any place quicker than an arrow. Many called him ‘Kai’ as it was easier for people to remember, and that was the name engraved on his throne. Kai was known for his dancing, enticing people since the day he appeared. 

Zhang Yixing had no idea how he got into the realm, but he was here. The innocent and injured relied on his power of healing. Sometimes, he searched the forest with Kyungsoo, the younger calling for the injured animals to come out. Yixing hands were gentle, carefully healing the animals back to health, gaining their trust. 

Kim Jongdae was sent down with the bolts of bright lightening that scared some, and he apologized for the fact. ‘Chen’ as he was known, summoned the electricity with his power when nights got to warm, so the next day was somewhat cooler. His throne was a bright colour, shining on the nights when the clouds were dark.

Oh Sehun appeared the night of the great storm. The princes of EXO found him, a child, broken from the harsh rain and wind. Yet the wind was from his own power. His screams and cried caused the wind to rise as he was the controller of wind. The princes took him in, caring and healing him until he was fit to rule as well, still by the side of the elders. Sehun was the youngest of the princes. 

Kim Minseok was the eldest, appearing first, awaiting someone to rule with him. When winters time came, he helped the snow fall from the sky. He watched and joined the children, building snow people. His childish nature made winters colder, and much more fun. He went by the name of Xiumin, easier for the people to pronounce. 

Three were taken ruthlessly, without any alarms or alert at all. Their hands bound behind their backs, powers useless to the monsters. The realm felt empty without them.

Lu Han was the first to be taken, watching as his friends were held back from saving him. Sehun was screaming, trying to force his way out of the strong grasp the guarding monsters had. Luhan used the remaining of his power of telekinesis to move Sehun back, telling him it was okay, and that he’d return. Whether this was a lie, no one knew. 

Wu Yifan was held down, unable to use his power of flight to escape. Yifan didn’t cry out, and no tears were shed. He knew his fate from the very beginning. Looking back, he watched as the other princes cried, trying their damn hardest to help. But he just smiled. And that was the last thing they saw of Yifan. 

Huang ZiTao didn’t go down without a fight. His stopped time with his power multiple times, but it still wasn’t enough for them to escape. Tao fell into the trap, much like Baekhyun, but the elder was not the one they wanted. The youngers eyes went dark as something was injected into his bloodstream and Tao was unconscious. Baekhyun had turned around, only to stare as Tao fell onto the floor. His howls blinded the monsters holding them, back, and the nine escaped, without Luhan, Yifan or Tao.

Their mission had failed.


	2. Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE  
Baekhyun was the earliest to awaken, sun filtering through the curtains onto his bare chest. He shared a room with Chanyeol and Yixing, both snoring, making Baekhyun smile. Sitting up, he gently scratched at his chest with short nails, looking around the room at nothing. He flicked his wrist an inch, little stars of light surrounding his hands until he wished them away. It made it look like his hands were immersed in a galaxy. Baekhyun did this every morning, just to make sure his power was still inside. Nothing could rid of these powers, only the monsters that they feared deep inside. Who knows what hell these creatures would create if they got into the fortress.

The castle of EXO was ancient and worn on the outside, new and modern in the inside. The public section of the fortress had been kept preserved, and that’s where the thrones were. Nine thrones stood proudly in the centre of the hall, showing off their glory like nothing was wrong. The stones were cracked, moss growing in each space it could. Vines climbed to the top of the high walls, clinging on for dear life in the storms that often disrupted the peaceful realm. The windows were frosted over as the chilly winter, microscopic snowflakes that Xiumin watched, admiring his own creation. 

Baekhyun never felt like a prince, despite the clothes he wore had golden seams and a white cape flowing down his back to his ankles. Kai and Kyungsoo had black capes whilst Baekhyun, Yixing, Xiumin and Chen had white, the remaining had blue. Each cape held the kingdoms emblem carefully handstitched on the back. Baekhyun sat for a while before finally managing to fling his legs over the side of the bed, now facing Chanyeol’s bed. No one spoke about the holders of the golden capes, that were no longer seen in the kingdom. Chanyeol was on his back, grinning within the grasp of sleep. It wasn’t until Baekhyun shivered did the prince realize that goose bumps littered his pale skin. Pulling the blankets off the bed, round his shoulders, he stumbled towards Chanyeol.

Leaning over the youngers bed, Baekhyun gently shook his shoulder until he woke up, smiling up at Baekhyun with a wide grin. Chanyeol sat up, finally beginning to wake up and rub the sleep from his deep brown eyes. Not bothering to wake up Yixing, Baek crossed the room and opened the wardrobe, pulling out the thin tight-fitting jeans and the white shirt that would soon be covered by the golden necklace they wore, although he wouldn’t put that on for most of the day. They worse modern clothes much like the travellers that roamed the land. Despite this, the villagers kept themselves traditional, quite the opposite of the Princes. 

The realm was very peaceful, and so were the people that lived in the town. Each prince went down to see the people they protected. Yixing and Xiumin loved the people so much, helping them in any way possible. With, or without powers. 

When the monsters came two years ago, Kai was down with the villagers when they heard the roar that brought rocks tumbling down from the mountain peaks. Using his power, Kai teleported back to the hall where thankfully everyone was sat on their thrones. Kai completely missed his footing when he lands, falling onto his knees of the floor. Out of breath, he screamed at the older princes. ‘They’re back!’ he screamed over and over. And now there was only nine. 

“Baekhyun? What are you doing?” Chanyeol spoke up, causing Baek to spin round on his heel.

“Oh, just thinking, I’m going for a shower if you want to tell Yixing NOT to walk in.” Baek replied, grabbing his towel and clothes, heading for the bathroom attached to the room. A laugh was heard before he closed the door, an obviously reply to what he said.

Down the hall, Sehun was just waking up himself, mainly from the chilly air that was hitting his arm that was exposed. He got up as fast as possible, trying to outwit the cold and get changed before he shivered. Pulling on his jeans, he skidded to his bedside drawer to find his belt that was curled up somewhere, whilst somehow waking up the leader, Suho. Sehun finally got changed before freezing to death and left the room, silently walking through the large, empty halls of the castle. His hair was sticking up in most directions, but his current objective was to find his cape before someone found out he lost it. Again. The blue piece of cloth had to be somewhere. Right?

The last time Sehun remembered seeing it was draped over the back of his beautiful throne. Sehun wasn’t one to walk around the castle on his own, as it was cold and lonely. Both things Sehun didn’t really like. Reaching the throne hall, the youngest stared at his seat. And his cape was nowhere to be seen. 

Panic rose in the child’s chest, knowing he was now dead. Running over, he jumped onto the seat to check behind it, just in case it had slipped. Nothing was there. God, it would take him at least a day to resticth the symbol on. Suho had calmly waked into the hall, only to see Sehun, curled up on his throne looking nothing like the prince he was. His knees were pulled to his chest, head laying on top.

Suho jogged over, afraid of what had happened to the younger. Resting a gentle hand on his head, Suho kneeled, meeting eyes with Sehun.

“I lost my cape.” Sehun whispered before even being asked. Shame overtook him, and tears rolled down his face. Suho stayed silent, knowing the younger prince was annoyed at himself. The cape had been given to him by Luhan, just, moments before the attack, wrapped in silk like paper with a glorious red bow. It was like a ghost was in the room, watching over them as they reminisced on the times with the elder. 

Suho remembered the elder stitching the white hexagonal emblem onto he cape for around an hour. It didn’t take long as his hands were good with a thread and needle. Why the hell was a cape so easy to lose? A soft sob escaped the youngers lips as he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the elder’s neck. 

“I’m going to take you to Chanyeol and Yixing, okay? I will find your cape before this afternoon.” Suho replied, leading Sehun back through the castle towards the bedrooms. Sehun’s head was hung low. The shower was still on when they entered the large room, guessing it was Baekhyun. 

Yixing was clipping his white cape to the back of his shirt when he noticed Suho, with Sehun slightly hidden behind. Suho quickly explained the situation, bowing and leaving the room, now in search of the youngers cape. In all their eyes, Sehun was too young to rule. 

“I promise I didn’t mean to lose this one.” Sehun said from his position next to Yixing, who smiled fondly at the younger.

Each member held a different memory of when they saved the child from the great storm. His body was merely seconds away from being ripped apart. Kyungsoo was protected by nature, a white aura showing around his body. He had run through the heart of the storm and grabbed the child, protecting him with his entire body. 

Suho was in so much pain the entire storm, trying to cease the rain but it was too harsh. Xiumin had intertwined their hands, attempting to change the rain into light snow, using most of his power. Baekhyun and Chanyeol went around each house, making sure every family was warm and the house was full of light. 

Yifan was using his flight to transport people into the safety of the castle, Yixing healing those injured by debris. Luhan was out with Tao, using telekinesis to move more debris and houses. Tao could not use his power, afraid of getting more people hurt by speeding up time, but he stopped time twice to prevent pain from others. Kai was teleporting people back and forth to the castle as well, mostly the children that had been separated from their parents or lost. 

There was too much lightening for Chen to control. His power was the one that took time to perfect, and he was struggling with that. He was able to stop some of it near the town, but not enough. His main motive was to keep it from strucking Kyungsoo and the child. Kai had gotten to Kyungsoo first, teleporting him to the castle as fast as possible, getting the child to Yixing for him to heal.

Now, 5 years after the storm, Sehun was now 20, still depending on his elders. Whenever shirtless, Sehun could clearly see the scars that riddled his body from that night. He was thankful to everyone for saving him. The entire storm was how Sehun came into existence, it was his ‘entrance’ to the world. Yixing had to wave a hand in front of Sehun’s eyes for him to come back to reality. 

“I’m sure Suho will find it, he’s our leader.” Yixing reassured the younger, “Anyway, go and jump on Chanyeol, he fell asleep again.”

Sehun jumped straight on top of Chanyeol, earning a loud cough followed by a fit of laughter from the elder. Chanyeol wrapped his arms round the lanky kids, smiling as he rolled off the top and onto the floor.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun turned off the shower, stepping out and quickly covering himself in the large towel whilst he scrubbed his face thoroughly. Slipping into his black jeans, Baekhyun pulled them over his hips, tightening the belt so they stayed on. His white shirt slid over his torso easily, as the boy was thinner than most his age. As he began to clip that cape onto his shirt, he walked out of the bathroom as casually as he walked in.

Sehun turned to face Baekhyun, who’s hair was still dripping, and smiled. You could see the light behind Baekhyun’s eyes, just like the power he held deep within. Once they were all changed, all four walked down to the main kitchen, where they presumed Kyungsoo would be. Except for Sehun, each of their capes billowed behind them. These halls were lined with ancient painting and erythraean curtains that hung from ceiling to floor. Baekhyun remembered the night he had to fix one of the curtain hooks. He ended up trusting Yifan with his life. On Yifan’s back, 20 feet in the air, Baekhyun fixed the broken hook. 

There were no maids or helpers in the castle, not even a single adviser. The princes ran by themselves, somehow keeping everything level throughout the chaos that went on inside. The madness of their games of hide and seek, of which Xiumin was the best at winning, being small and all. Sure, there could be a king, but there was no one confident enough to hold such a title. There was also no crown to place on anyone’s head to show the title of King, so they kept as Princes.

Kyungsoo was there to greet them as they walked into the kitchen, the smell of pancakes wafting through the old room. Yes, princes eat pancakes. Sehun was sent on the mission of getting Kai and Suho from wherever they were, as Xiumin and Chen were sat at the table already. Hopefully, the two weren’t too far away. Sehun crossed the hallway into the throne room once more, seeing as Kai was sat down, face buried in some sort of book of book. Sehun didn’t recognize it, but he knew it was older than most in the library. The leather cover was worn out and almost falling apart in the elder’s fingers. The cover held no words as a title, only being able to tell what it was named from the contents inside. 

Sehun skipped over and shook his shoulder, quickly telling him that breakfast was ready and he had to go find Suho. He was silently hoping the leader had found his cape, as he certainly did not like being at all different. The youngest prince searched high and low for Suho, his mission seeming unsuccessful. Barely half an hour had passed since the two had seen each other and they were already lost.

Suho had found the cape, exactly how he thought he’d find it, but not in the place he thought. The blue fabric was draped over Luhan’s old throne, in the dark room connected to the main throne room. The dark purple throne was cold, a horrendous reminder of who they’d lost. Sehun must’ve been there and forgotten the cape. 

Sehun crashed into something, causing both to fall onto the floor. The youngest groaned on impact with the floor, sitting up whilst rubbing his head. Suho was sat up, opposite him, cape in his lap. Sehun ended up on top of Suho, thanking him repeatedly for finding the piece of fabric that would later end up around his neck  
.  
Both barrelled into the kitchen, slotting in between Kai and Chen as they began to eat. 

“So, the agenda for today is?” Kyungsoo inquired.

“We are going to search the castle. The monsters left a clue for us.”

And with that, Xiumin’s words lingered in the air like a thick fog.


	3. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

The castle fell silent as the words left Xiumin. Each member could only stare at the elder, but somehow, they believed him.

After the attack, the realm was broken. Baekhyun had screamed, the skies almost blinding people/ Only Yixing was able to calm him down, arms wrapping round him, healing the burns the light had caused on his hands. Baekhyun rarely got burnt, but this time, he had used to much of his power. He had fallen unconscious in Yixing’s arms, his power levels dangerously low. Chanyeol carried him back to the castle, carefully tracing fake patterns into the elder’s arms. The younger felt awful, as he didn’t get burnt either, even with fire as his element. Baekhyun was significantly shorter than Chanyeol, making it easier for the younger to carry him. The wind howled all through the night as Sehun laid awake, unable to sleep as he roommate was gone. Luhan meant so much to the youngest, but no one really knew. Suho heard the wind and crossed the castle to stay with the younger. Only when Suho arrived did the wind calm down, as Sehun was no longer alone.

“Where?” Baekhyun asked, before jumping up to refill the jug that stood in the middle of the table now empty.

“Who know? This castle is huge!” Cried Chen, waving his arms to create a point.

Chanyeol pushed himself away from the table, quickly dashing over to catch the jug that Baekhyun was moments away from dropping, as his thin, small arms were unable to carry it, now it was full. Sitting back down, both boy filled up the other glasses, making sure everyone drank enough.

The caste was almost as big as the south side of the village itself. Rooms linked into rooms, hallways halted in dead ends. Kai used to teleport around the fortress when he was younger, way before he found out he could hurt himself. He found out the day he tried to teleport to the top o the castle, failing complelty. He miscalculated the edge and missed the top of the castle, falling to the floor. If it wasn’t for Yifan and Tao, Kai would’ve died. Tao stopped time immediately, unfreezing Yifan so he could use his flight. Tao un-paused time and Kai fell straight into Yifan’s arms, who got him back to safety. And no, he did not get away without a stern warning. Kai was crying at the end, surrounded by several pairs of arms in a tight embrace.

They decided to split into a couple teams to search, Suho, Sehun and Kai in one. Baekhyun and Yixing in another. Xiumin, Kyungsoo, Chen and Chanyeol in the last.

Baekhyun and Yixing ran up to the roof, looking over the top of their realm. Hills rolled over the land, trees creating little dots of colour along the horizon. On the frosty morning, the land looking shiny, glittering under the rays of sunshine. Yixing asked Baekhyun once they reached the top if he could take him somewhere, alone. Even though there was something they had to find, Baekhyun followed Yixing down through the castle. Once they donned their boots, Yixing gently took the youngers hand and took him running towards the forest.

Yixing, much like Kyungsoo, was one with nature, the animals trusting him with their souls. As they made their way to the heart of the forest, Baekhyun noticed how the trees got brighter, and the flower petals were strong and pretty in colour. In the very centre of the ever-growing forest, was an empty circle, a patch of grass where Yixing pulled Baekhyun down to sit. Both were sat crossed legged now, silently awaiting something to appear.

Slowly, a baby deer came out from the darkness, it’s soft fur coated in blood from a wound on its side. Baekhyun’s heart broke as the deer stumbled towards them. Pain was thickly layered in its sorrowful eyes.

“Hold out your hand and flicker some light. Make sure it knows of your ability.” Yixing whispers.

With a flick of a wrist, a small candle like light appeared in his palm, not enough to scare anything away. The deer strained its neck to look, clearly entranced by the light. Baekhyun smiled, slowly coaxing the animal forward. It stumbled and luckily, fell into Baekhyun’s lap, and he immedialty made the light disperse. Yixing’s hand hovered a little above the baby fawn’s small body, using his power to close the wound and get rid of the pain. Baekhyun could only stare at Yixing as he did this, transfixed with the idea of being able to heal. Yixing seemed to be the nicest of the members, like his power was specially given to him. The deer was whimpering quietly.

“The animals seem to trust you Baekhyun. “Yixing said, forcing Baekhyun out of his trance.

Surrounding him, deer’s and rabbits stood in between the trees, beautifully coloured birds flittered down to sit of the deer’s back. A hand was placed underneath Baekhyun’s pulling it up slightly. When he looked down, Yixing’s hand was under his and a flower was now forming on his own, as if he was doing this. The animals came closer, and Baekhyun showed his own power. He himself was afraid that he’d scare the animals away. But instead, they came closer, nuzzling against his hand. The baby deer was still curled up in Baekhyun’s lap, fast asleep in the warmth of his body.

“ **Oh, you are funny”**

Yixing and Baekhyun winced, a voice pounding into their heads like hammers. Baekhyun looked at the younger, holding onto his arm for safety. This hadn’t happened for years upon years. All the princes knew this voice well, although never knowing the person behind the words. Yixing could just imagine the others in the same way, stopping what they were doing to wait for what was next to be said. Baekhyun had gotten slowly used to the feeling that the voice brought. Not the pain, but the empty feeling like something was missing. Because it was.

“ **Why do you think you’ll find it?”**

Oh lord did Baekhyun want to scream. Whoever this person was, was underestimating their power as one. Yixing had gotten the animals away, just so they could run away without frightening the creatures. They ran and ran until reaching the fortress grounds, but got no further than the throne room before being thrown onto the floor as the voice penetrated their heads once more.

**“Princes Yifan, Tao and Luhan are still alive, barely.”**

A heart wrenching scream echoed the halls, no one exactly sure who it was. This was the first thing they had heard about them in two years, and they weren’t even sure if they were okay! Tears pooled in Baekhyun’s eyes. What was happening to them? Time was flying past, the words almost blending together as the voice spoke.

**“Search high and low. Far and wide. If you find it, I will reward you.”**

And with that, the searing pain left their heads as tears ran down Baekhyun’s pale face, he gathered himself up and left Yixing behind in the throne room, bolting towards where the scream came from. As his cape billowed behind him, Baekhyun finally found where the noise came from. Sehun was being encased by both Kai and Suho, on the floor. Baekhyun turned around almost immediately, knowing that Sehun was not alone in that state. Instead, the prince of light just stumbled to his room, collapsing next to the bed the moment he got there.

The most powerful princes in the world had their weaknesses. They felt pain like any other human in the realm, but didn’t show it to the world they reigned over. Sehun was still young in their minds, even though he was 20 years old. He was emotional, especially since they lost the three. It was the centre of all their attention. Getting them back would be the happiest day in the history of EXO.

It was their mission to get them back.

“Baekhyun?”

Upon hearing his name, Baekhyun looked up to face Chanyeol who was knelt at eye level in front of him. No words fell from his mouth as he leaned forward, wrapping his arms round the youngers neck. Chanyeol, who was taller than all the princes, ending up picking him up, letting the elder wrap his legs round his waist as he held him tight. Inside, most of them felt like children, being thrown into the world of reigning a kingdom by themselves.None of them had parents, nor brothers or sisters. Despite this, the nine of EXO were named brothers. They relied on each other for comfort and someone to talk to. Some even had crushed on the others, which was a secret to themselves.

The grandfather clock struck twelve and both knew what that meant.

At twelve, once every week, the princes would sit proudly on their thrones, forgetting everything and anything personal that was happening and would talk to the village elders about the town and realm itself, discussing what was going on. Kai and Kyungsoo had been chosen to take the walk down into the village. Kai especially liked the children. He would play along with their games and sometimes teleport them around. Not very far and not into dangerous places. Kyungsoo would help the elderly plant their trees and care for some of the animals that roamed the land and entered their gardens. Chen was not the easiest to talk to, as he was the one with the jokes. The prince of lightening would listen precisely to the conversations but didn’t really give any input, letting the others around him make the decisions.


	4. Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

All the princes sat like kings on their thrones, their gold necklaces glittering under the candle lit chandeliers. They hung low from the ceiling, diamonds and emeralds encrusted into silver lights, candles flickering above their heads. Each throne was made differently, whether being made by the hands of the gods, or appearing just as suddenly as the princes themselves, no one knew. They represented the princes highly, the emblem of EXO slotted into the back using multiple gems like mosaics.

Kai and Kyungsoo were just beginning to get ready for their walk down into the peaceful village. It didn’t have a name, no one really thinking about one to use. Kai was never nervous about the walk, so today was a first. His palms were sweating, and his heart was pounding, trying to escape its bone cage ferociously. Pulling on his beige boots, Kyungsoo eyed Kai and the younger stood up straight to tighten his cape, something he didn’t need to do, as now wind passed through the valley.

Kai stayed close to Kyungsoo as they walked through the garden of cherry trees that grew in the area, pink petals covering the ground when winter came. Chanyeol usually sits under the trees in summer, not really minding the heat as much as the others. Kyungsoo glanced to his side where Kai was about to miss his footing on a loose slab. Using his power, the elder pulled it up to the correct height, so the younger could walk whilst no paying any attention. Kai was the worst person for concentration as his mind wandered places many didn’t dare to. Both goys were greeted by an elderly woman making her way towards the castle for the hour of discussion. Kai rushed forward, bowing low to say hello. Kyungsoo was quick to follow in the youngers actions.

“Good day to you! The princes are waiting patiently for your arrival. You may just be the first!” Kyungsoo said, smiling brightly.

Kai stood for a while, watching as the woman walked away, looking like he was moments away from teleporting to help her. Kyungsoo could only sigh and put all his arm, causing him to fall back to reality and continue their way.

Back in the castle, Yixing was trying desperately to find Chanyeol and Baekhyun. They were just ten minutes away from meeting the elders and the most talkative two were missing. When Baekhyun was talking formally, it was like he had aged ten years. He knew words that only some could only dream about what the meaning was. Chanyeol would take notes and always made sure to ask what the people wanted to do about the situation at hand.

Chanyeol was still holding Baekhyun tight when Yixing found them. Baekhyun’s ash grey hair was splayed out across his face, hiding his teary eyes. Chanyeol’s hand was tangled in the elder’s hair, letting him know he was not letting go. Yixing knelt to eyes level and pushed a few strands of hair away from the youngers eyes, light brown orbs meeting white ones.

Some people thought Baekhyun was blind because all his eye was white, including his pupils. Even with entirely white eyes, Baekhyun could show so much emotion through his eyes. Despite this, the boy always knew that becoming blind was a possibility, as his power was sometimes too much to contain.

He seemed tired and upset when Yixing looked properly, totally different how he was earlier. Baekhyun was rarely like this, being the puppy of the group and loving to chat with others even if it was nothing to do with the subject of the conversation. Baekhyun nuzzled further into Chanyeol’s warmth, whimpering slightly, afraid of what would be said next.

“Baekhyun, want to spend some time in the library? I can make up some excuse for you.” Yixing said gently.

Baekhyun slowly nodded, letting Yixing take him into his arms. Chanyeol bowed to the elder before leaving the room and running down the hall to reach the throne room. The library was almost as old as the castle, many travellers bring books from afar for the princes to read one day. Over three thousand books sat untouched in that room. Dust layered the leathers covers and burnt pages that fell apart at a single touch. Baekhyun would spend hours in here, like a vampire who feared sunlight. Yixing set him down, tucking a thick, fluffy blanket under his chin and reaching for the book Baekhyun was seen reading for most of his life. The elder smiled as he looked upon the prince that now looked like a child, wrapped up cosy in a blanket with a book.

“I’ll come back soon. I promise.” Yixing whispers, pressing a kiss onto his forehead before skidding out of the room and bolting down the hallway to reach the throne room in time. Yixing had a sweet personality, making him want to care for everyone, which even he knew, might not end well. Once Baekhyun was alone, he slid down to place the book on the floor and curl up further, falling deeper and deeper into the grasp of sleep. He couldn’t tell you what he wanted to dream about, but could talk for hours about what he feared he would see, the hands of darkness reaching out to take him away. These dreams were riddled with the screams of voices he couldn’t escape even when he was awake. Baekhyun knew there was something wrong with him, and so did Chanyeol, the younger protecting him whatever the costs.

Chanyeol smiled upon seeing Yixing arrive, knowing exactly where Baekhyun was at that the elder was okay without them. Once sat down, Suho opened the main doors, letting the village elders inside, whilst the others stood behind them.

And so, the meeting began.

Back with Kyungsoo and Kai, both boys were just arriving at the church were no one seemed to occupy the building. Kyungsoo was quiet, watching over Kai as the younger studied the stained-glass windows with care. The pews were made from old oak trees that had once stood tall somewhere in the land. Kai’s slim fingers ran along the waxed wood as he walked past, gently pulling on Kyungsoo’s sleeve to make him follow.

As they left the building, a scream echoed the village, causing them both to freeze. Suddenly, they were alert and ready for anything. Kyungsoo had knelt, his hand flat against the cold floor as he communicated with the earth. Once he knew where it had come from, he interlaced hands with Kai, who teleported them to where they needed to go. Kai’s heart was pounding harder and harder against his chest.

 

The middle of the forest was empty when they appeared, except a small girl, who’s hair flowed down to her ankles and dress pooled at her knees. Kai smiled and opened his arms, allowing the girl to run into his embrace. His had pushed her fringe away from her eyes, only to find black numbers written on. Kai looked back at Kyungsoo with confusion laced in his eyes, the elder returning that expression.

“Who wrote this?” Kai asked.

“No one. It appeared much like I did.” The girl says quietly.

Their eyes widened. She was one of them. The little girl standing in his arms was one of the many messengers of Molaarg, the monster that took away his friends. They didn’t even know what Molaarg looked like. Legend told that once the messengers mission was over, they crumbled to dust and evaporated into thin air. Kai didn’t want this, but no one knew when their mission was finished until they broke. Gathering the child into his arms, he took Kyungsoo’s hand once more and teleported directly into the castle.

Xiumin was discussing what time the village would be expecting winter when Kai appeared with a girl and Kyungsoo. Yixing immediately jumped into action, already thinking the worst, but Kyungsoo only shook his head and asked for their forgiveness, as an important message had arrived. Luckily, the villagers held a lot of respect for the Princes, giving them leeway to do what was needed to be done.

Chanyeol’s mind fluttered back to Baekhyun as they entered one of the few dining rooms in the castle, but was soon broken as he listened to Kai’s words. As he spoke, Kyungsoo lifted the girl up, sitting her on the table so that she was at least eye height for the shorter ones in the group.

“She’s a messenger,” He signed, glancing round, “someone get a pen and write down what she has to say.”

Suho came back quickly with a scroll of paper and a pen, leaning over the table to scribe what the girl said.

“They were forced to say something they wanted you to know. Yifan wanted you to know he was okay. Luhan wants Sehun to know he’ll see him again. Tao wished everyone his love… It is only a matter of time until they are killed.”

Sudden desperation fell into the little girl’s voice, as she now knew here fate was coming quickly.

“You have to find them. The next place you need to go is twenty-five miles away at 78X 45G.”

Suho had written everything down as fast as he could, noting every word the girl said. Tears ran down her beautiful tanned skin as she knew this was the end. The numbers she spoke of were the same written on her forehead. Yixing reached out, a hand cradling her head by cupping her cheek, much like a father would.

“It’s going to be okay sweetheart, it will be over soon.” He whispered, tears of his own pooling in his eyes. Even in this instance, his power was rendered useless.

At that moment, her body cracked, like a china doll that had been dropped. Everyone stepped away as she suddenly fell, dust filtering into the air, soon disappearing within the wind. Kai tried to lunge forward, only to be caught by someone as he fell. There was nothing there for him to grab, even when he tried. Yixing retreated his hand, covering his mouth in-case any noise escaped.

Suho read over the note again, left arm wrapped round Sehun’s waist as the youngest repeated the words in his mind like a mantra, his face buried in Suho’s shoulder. Yixing’s eyes wouldn’t move from the spot the girl once sat. The legend was real. The monster of Molaarg really turned people to dust one their deed was done. How could something think that was normal? Chanyeol turned away from the table, slowly walking down to where the library was, hoping to find Baekhyun. His red hair highly contrasted with his blue cape but it was one of the things he didn’t care about too much.

Baekhyun was still asleep under the candlelight when Chanyeol found him. The younger sat down, leaning his head on the elders exposed arm. He smiled weakly, as if Baekhyun could see him.

“You missed a little situation.” Chanyeol began shakily, “A little girl was one of the messengers, you know, the ones from the legends. When you wake up, I can tell you what she said.”

Baekhyun shifted a little to roll over, starling Chanyeol a little before he resumed lying on the elder’s arm. After a short while, Baekhyun woke up from whatever dream he was having, once again startling Chanyeol. Their eyes met for a moment, the prince of light not really knowing what was going on.

Both boys giggled before they left the library, in search of someone who could explain the situation a little better then their own minds could.

“Was she young?” Baekhyun whispered, barely loud enough over the constant tapping of their feet as they walked down the stone hallway.

“Yes. I don’t know how old, but a child.”

Chanyeol kept his gaze forward, afraid to meet Baekhyun’s white eyes. He knew the elder would get upset at hearing such news of the others. What if they couldn’t get there in time? What if they all had to watch as they died?

Shaking his head, he rid of these thoughts and opened the door for Baekhyun that led into the drawing room, where the seven were sat. Kai was led so his head was in Kyungsoo’s lap, fast asleep as the past hour was unfair on him. Unfair on all of them. Except for Baekhyun, all the princes had watched a legend they thought untrue become a reality.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter four

Almost immediately, Baekhyun ran into the embrace of Chen, who couldn’t explain what was happening well enough. His arms where long and winded round the elders small body, as if to protect from the information about to be given. Moving his eyes towards Suho, the prince reached out to take the paper that was being handed to him. Suho had a cursive handwriting, which was always hard to read, like he had been taught for years as a child, but that couldn’t have happened, as no one recalled their childhood, if they had one at all. Kai shifted a little, causing Kyungsoo to freeze for a moment, trying to avoid waking him up. The elder sighed in relieve when Kai relaxed again.

As Baekhyun read over the words, he felt them engrave into his soul, knowing that they had to do something to at least try and safe them. Suddenly, Baekhyun snapped his head up, gaze falling onto the map splayed across the desk. It was worn and old, tearing at the edges, burnt where it had been held to close to fire. That was probably Chanyeol’s fault. He took a while to come to terms with how to use his power, and now he named himself the master, despite his many mistakes.

“Kagcha bridge.” Baekhyun blurted out, yet perfectly aware of the words he said at the same time.

Everyone turned to look at him, puzzled and anxious about what was at that certain destination. The bridge was well known, as it was the commonly named ‘the bridge of the damned’. The steel construction had worn away in the middle, creating a large gap that nothing could cross. Even if they could, the other side was said to send you to hell, if such a place existed. No one held any story of the bridge, as many were frightened to venture that far from the village. Baekhyun ignored the stares he got as he walked towards the map, gliding his fingers across it. He stopped exactly where the bridge would be placed on this map.

“Suho, what coordinate is my finger on?” Baekhyun’s whisper cut through the silence.

“78X 45G” Suho replied after working it out.

“That’s where she said!” Cried Chen, accidently waking up Kai with his yell.

“The bridge. It’s where we have to go.”

Chanyeol looked over the map one last time, confirming that was where the destination really was. From the castle, the route to the bridge was treacherous, waving in an out of different forests and rolling hills until it was open space, where the bridge was located. It would take at least two days, as they did not want to take horses, the risk being too high of misplacing them. Soon enough, everyone was leaning on the desk, fingers tracing over various routes that would either work or fail. As the girl said, they had little time, not enough to explain to the village of their situation. Their thoughts began to blend together after around an hour, and the princes finally decided what they were going to do.

“We leave tomorrow morning, from there we travel where Xiumin pointed out, stopping at the places Kyungsoo seems safe. When we get to the bridge, I believe what we need to do next will become apparent. For now, everyone gets some sleep.” Suho said.

Everyone nodded in agreement, now sure of what their schedule was. Linking arms with Yixing, Chanyeol skipped along the hallway with the elder, towards their bedroom. Baekhyun had run ahead already, seemingly excited about the upcoming mission. It would be a difficult one at that, but EXO were prepared to do whatever they could, as long as it got their missing family back home safe and sound. Xiumin doubted the entire mission would be fun as no one knew what would happen after the bridge.

Chen and Kyungsoo stayed behind a little, making sure everyone left and didn’t stay up. The mission would take a lot out of their energy, and that wasn’t even starting to think about the power they might have to use. After everyone had left, Kyungsoo pulled Jongdae away and towards where their room was, finding Kai asleep once more, this time in a burrow of blankets.

“Sleep well!” Yixing says before turning the lights out, forcing the room into darkness. Only little slithers of moonlights peeks through the windows and onto the blankets. What no one saw was the stars that were sprinkled in the sky like a handful of glitter.

And whilst everyone slept soundly, the hands of darkness came for Baekhyun.

**They were here. Their blood tainted skin and dark eyes captured him in a tight grasp, impossible to escape. A cracked hand constricted around his neck, making it harder and harder for him to cry out, let alone breath. His body was beginning to give up, the blood inside becoming deprived of oxygen. Baekhyun was going to die. The walls were closing in, everything growing blurred. Tears of anguish trickled down his pale cheeks.**

**Numb. Baekhyun was going numb. As he thrashed in their dark hands, they laughed. Laughed as if this was a game to them. A loud noise erupted the room, and the place lit up as some sort of door was opened. Despite this, Baekhyun knew he wasn’t going to last. They were there. All eleven of them, including Tao, Luhan and Kris.**

**A smile made its way to Baekhyun’s broken lips, as saw his brothers for the last time. Baekhyun was dead by the hands of darkness that came from his own body.**

 

Chanyeol had awoken to someone crying out. He sat up slowly, pushing himself up to look around the room. Something was rustling around, but it was too dark to tell. Swinging his legs round, he froze as a voice broke the silence that was thick in the air.

“Stop…. Please stop!”

As soon as his mind registered the words, Chanyeol’s hands were immersed in a mixture of red, orange and yellow flames, throwing areas of the room into focus, mostly Baekhyun’s bed. Which was exactly where his focus needed to be. Baekhyun was kicking out, as if trying to fight something that was obviously not there. His eyelashes were glittered with tears that were yet to fall, and Chanyeol could only tell it would get worse from here. It hurt his heart to see him like this, flailing at the thought of something unimaginable. Running over to Yixing, he extinguished the flame and shook the elders shoulder, slightly more violently than he wanted to, but it woke him up. The elder reached up and turned on a small lamp that only lit up the room a little more than the flame had before.

“Somethings happening to Baek.” Chanyeol said.

Both boys leaped up and crossed the room, one sitting on either side of the bed. Yixing’s eyes searched Chanyeol’s as he spoke.

“Don’t wake him up, let him wake himself up.” Yixing spoke quietly. “Go and get Suho, I’ll stay here.”

Chanyeol nodded before sprinting away, leaving to find their leader. Baekhyun’s foot collided with Yixing’s side, making the elder flinch and look back at the prince of light.

His face was scrunched up with an expression of pain, as his mind was clearly fighting reality. Sweat had beaded across his forehead which was now mixing with the tears. Baekhyun’s eyes were fluttering open, but he still trapped within his sleep. Yixing was afraid of waking him up, purely because he knew what nightmares were like. They were easy to merge into reality, making you forget which was true. Sehun of all people knew this, as it took them a while to convince him that the storm was real, and that they were going to take care of him.

Suho burst into the room, Chanyeol following behind. It was a matter of seconds before Baekhyun woke up. With a curt scream, he shot bolt upright, hands pale as his grip on the sheets tightened. He began to hyperventilate, and that’s where Suho came in. The leader moved Baekhyun into his lap, running his finger through his hair. There were a few moments of silence were all that could be heard was Baekhyun’s heavy breathing and the rustling trees outside.

“Something had me trapped, I couldn’t breathe. You were there, all eleven of you. I died. They killed me.” Baekhyun rambled, uncontrollable tears streaming from his white eyes, heaving gasps escaping his painful lungs. His hands were shaking in Yixing’s grasp, a clear sign of how he was panicking.

Chanyeol stayed away, scared of crowding the boy that had only just awoken from a nightmare. There had always been something about Baekhyun that felt different from the others, like there was a secret inside him that not even he knew about, similar with Luhan. Yixing was tracing circles into the youngers back as he finally began to calm down, now that the leader was there. He didn’t even know what time it was, or how long it was until they were due to leave.

Yixing had never tried to heal someone’s mind, as he feared it would mess something up, or even worse, erase their memories. Many a time he had hovered his hand over a person head, but the strength never came. He hoped that the day he had to heal a mind never arrived. Kyungsoo was secretly terrified of killing someone, despite his mean demeanour that came across. Just the image of his power taking a person’s life was too much for him to think about.

Powers and elements are hard to control, especially when you are young. They take time to master, learning how to summon it from inside, and banish it back within. The stronger powers took much longer to understand. As Chanyeol learnt, you couldn’t just expect fire to appear from your hand, as it took him months to get a single flame to appear. Then he almost burnt down the castle.

It took a while, but after around half an hour, Baekhyun was asleep. Suho supported the youngers lower back as he moved him to lie down, pulling the blankets up to his chest, which was moving lightly alongside his breathing. His eyes were fluttering underneath his closed eyelids, showing that something was going on inside his mind. Suho stayed a while longer, making sure that no pained expression was shown on his face. As he left, Suho smiled at Chanyeol, who returned the motion before rolling over to sleep.

At last, Baekhyun was at peace, a long way away in dreamland.


	6. Chapter Five

Chanyeol didn’t have the heart to wake Baekhyun up, as the elder was finally at peace within. That nightmare had shaken him up, enough to make him cry. His hair was flopped over his face, mainly hiding his eyes and the blankets were curled around his small frame. Chanyeol decided to leave him for a little longer before they had to leave for the bridge. Yixing had already gotten up, and was now somewhere with the others, so Chanyeol went on a search.

He found them all in the drawing room, still studying the map for different routes. There were not many other directions they could go without having to cross a mountain, as they were located inside a valley. Kyungsoo had prepared some food they could take, not much but hopefully enough. It depended on how long it would take, and what was hidden behind the bridge. Kyungsoo had an odd feeling about this, deep inside his stomach that made him feel sick with every thought that crossed his mind. Maybe Kai would be able to talk to him about it?

He turned to face the younger who was, once again, buried inside a book he had found in the library. It seemed to be the same one Sehun saw him ready. Sitting beside him, Kyungsoo twiddled his fingers without really knowing what he was doing. Kai looked up and smiled, closing the book before twisting in the chair, now completely facing the elder. Once asked, Kai agreed. The feeling was the exact same with him, a sickness that wouldn’t go away after a few days.

Little did they know, Chanyeol felt similar. Terrified of what would happen if they failed. He swore to anything alive that he would kill Molaarg if they had done anything to Luhan, Yifan or Tao. Even if it meant the death of himself. Chanyeol wanted to protect anyone and everyone, despite the fact he was easily frightened.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun had woken up and stumbled towards the bathroom, smiling at himself in the mirror. There was a light knock on the door before Kai walked in. He leaned on the doorway, watching the elder move about the room, glancing at things he could take with him, which was not a lot.

“I just wanted to ask you something. Yixing says you’re hurt.”

Ah, that was another power Yixing held. He could force a health bar to appear in his vision above every person he met. The thing was, Baekhyun hadn’t got any injuries whatsoever. This meant something was either going to happen, or was slowly hurting him without him knowing.

“I haven’t hurt myself. I promise.” Baekhyun replied to the prince, turning to clip his cape onto his shirt once more, letting the fabric fall down his back.

“I believe you Baek, but Yixing seems so adamant that something is wrong.” Kai’s voice trailed off before he left the room. Everyone in the band worried about Baekhyun. There was just something about him that felt…. Different.

All this had to be connected in some way. But it what way?

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Across the realm, another castle stood proudly, high above the clouds that loomed above. The colours were dark and mysterious, creating a shadow across what once was a pretty land. Inside, was a maze of long, never ending hallways that were lined with painting of the old rulers of the various kingdoms that surrounded. The trees were charred and black from the fire that rained down when the king got angry.

But in EXO’s minds, he was not a king. He was a killer with no heart.

The monster of Molaarg would stay in his castle, sending out his minions to gather the people he wanted. His body was larger than a house, arms long and slimy with a green tint and black and red eyes that pierced the daylight. But now, he had the real people he desired. High above his throne, three cadges hung. Molaarg’s most prized possessions.

Yifan was on his far left, sat leaning against the bars. The prince of flight was not one to cry, but tears tracks still stained his skin. He was scared, scared of what was happening when they took Tao or Luhan away. Yifan wished his cage was in the middle, so he could at least reassure Tao in the times needed. Whatever Molaarg injected into them, was to stop their powers regaining fast. Tao didn’t have much power when he was injected, so he fell unconscious.

Luhan was in the next cadge along, still on Molaarg’s left side. Molaarg loved Luhan to the point it was disgusting. Despite this, Luhan had a wound on his stomach, travelling down to his left hip. Whenever it had healed, Molaarg opened it again, causing the boy to scream and cry out in pain. But neither Yifan or Tao could do anything. He was unconscious most of the time, but when he wasn’t, Yifan would talk to him, or try to. Sometimes, they used Luhan’s telekinesis to have small conversations, but his powers would wear out quickly.

Tao was on Molaarg’s right, away from the other two. His skin still held the black spirals from the injection, running through his veins like water. It hurt when he touched it, but he couldn’t help it, as the only warmth he had was himself. They had been allowed to keep their capes, which seemed to be the only connection they had to the rest of EXO.

“Luhan?” Yifan said, hoping the elder was awake.

Molaarg could not hear them even if they yelled, as he had some sort of sound barrier around them. Yifan sighed as he got no response, guessing Luhan was out cold again.

“GeGe,” Yifan flinched as he heard his nickname, “It hurts…”

Luhan was leaning against the cage, head turned just enough to see Yifan through his teary eyes. His wound was once again open, blood staining the already stained white shirt. His fingers were also red with the metallic liquid. Why wasn’t taking them hostage for so long enough for this monster.

“It’s okay... I promise you will get better.” Yifan replied, reassuring the elder and quite possibly himself.

But it was too late, Luhan had already passed out by the time he replied. Looking past the elder, Yifan watched as Tao’s cage was unlocked by one of the smaller monsters controlled by Molaarg. Suddenly a messenger monster came in, kneeling down to the feet of the king.

“The girl has died. Her message has been sent.”

Yifan immediately recognised what it was saying. Yesterday, a girl was sent to the EXO kingdom with a message, carrying one from each of them as well. If she was dead, that meant they got it. A small part of Yifan felt warm, as he smiled, knowing they were coming. It was just a matter of time. Despite this, Tao was still being dragged away, him being too weak to even fight back. Who knows where they were taking him?

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

The nine princes of EXO gathered in the throne room, donned with shoes and small bags which carried small weapons and supplied of food. They could form weapons out of their powers, but it was best to carry real ones just in case. Suho, being the slightly overprotective leader, was checking they had everything when something unreal happened.

It was like a dream come to life. A cloud of mist appeared in front of them, slowly taking the form of a person.

And that’s when Tao appeared.

Xiumin screamed at it, not really knowing what to do. It was futuristic. Molaarg had created a way to enter their minds, and now a way to show Tao like a dream. He was alone, being told he could say something if he wanted but there was a punishment. If he stayed silent, he would get out without anything happening.

Tao smiled, tears slowly escaping his eyes as he watched them.

Chen was the only person to walk forward, getting closer to the illusion.

“Are you all okay?” He whispered. Tao could only nod in response, but he pulled up his ripped sleeve to show the black veins. Chen smiled weakly, resisting the urge to reach out. Tao suddenly turned away, clearly being pulled. Just before the mist evaporated, he spun round with little strength.

He waved.

Waved as if nothing was wrong.

And then, the throne room was empty.

Baekhyun moved to bury his face in the closest persons chest, who just so happened to be Yixing, who immediately wrapped his arms round the smaller body.

“I think he would be punished if he spoke.” Whispered Chen, afraid to use his full voice, despite being the loudest member. They agreed, knowing that Tao wouldn’t have stopped talking if he wasn’t forced to stay silent. It destroyed Sehun just thinking about what they were doing to Tao, let alone the two they still hadn’t seen.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Tao had come back by then, before being shoved violently into the cage before it was hoisted high into the air. Luhan had awoken by then, this time feeling more awake than ever before. Looking to his side, he noticed Tao and smiled before scooting closer to the far right to lean on the bars.

“What did they do?” He asked, still clutching his side where the wound was still pulsing with pain. Luhan was almost scared to know the answer. Tao returned the look, long fingers curling round the cold bars.

“You know that mist thing they were on about. They tried it and it worked. I saw them all, and they saw me. I couldn’t talk to them, they said they’d punish me.” Tao replied quickly, despite the fact Molaarg could not actually hear them.

Luhan let out a breath of relieve he didn’t realize he was holding. God, he just wished he could reach out and hold his hand, which was clearly shaking under the pressure.

“Luhan. They looked they like they were leaving for somewhere. Maybe their coming to get us!” The younger said, smiling brightly just at the thought.

Pain suddenly shot through Luhan as he moved his hand away from his wound to process the damage. He tried not to cry out in pain, but there was no point. It seemed to have gotten better, but was still hurting. His eyelids felt heavy as he dropped in and out of consciousness. Tao was still smiling, which was a pleasant thing to see before Luhan passed out once more. Now that Luhan was led down, Yifan could see Tao a little better.

“Tao!” He yelled across the room.

There was no answer as both of their body convulsed violently, and they too, collapsed onto the metal flooring of the cage.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Baekhyun led the way out of the castle, making sure none of the villagers saw them. It was a mission that no one could no about, no matter how dangerous. Kyungsoo had remembered the route well enough to leave without a map or compass, and Kai would be able to teleport them back.

People wonder why Kai couldn’t just teleport everyone to the bridge immediately, but that would take too much power from the boy. With just himself, he would be able to do it, but with eight others and himself teleporting, it would surely hurt him. As they were walking, Yixing forced the health bar to appear above Baekhyun’s head. A little under full remained. As Kai informed him, Baekhyun had no injuries. Even when holding Baek last night, he couldn’t feel anything there for him to heal. Something was wrong.

There was always something that everyone knew could happen to them. And they knew it would happen.

Chanyeol knew he’d get badly burnt. Baekhyun knew he’d blind himself. Yixing knew he would become unhealable. Kyungsoo would one day become weak. Xiumin suspected he’d die from the cold. Suho knew he’s drown. Kai would become a glitch . Sehun knew his power was too powerful for him to contain as a child. Chen would get struck by lightning. Kris would fall from a height. Luhan knew he’d get frozen in someone’s mind. And Tao knew he’d get stuck in time.

It was just a matter of when.


	7. Chapter Six

Chen was looking up at the sky as it began to drizzle with rain, the clouds above dark and menacing. Suho went to raise his hands, stopping the rain but Xiumin stopped him.

“We should refrain from using our powers until a something really happens.” He says.

Chanyeol accidently carried on walking, not noticing the others stopping. As he stepped forward, something growled. It was low, and he could almost feel the anger the growl projected. He froze, confused at where it came from. Another growl sent a shiver down his spine, and his heart began to race. Everywhere he looked had just trees, a never-ending forest. It was growing louder and louder, like it was getting closer. Chanyeol couldn’t bring himself to move or yell out for the others.

But he should’ve done.

A pure white wolf prowled forward towards Chanyeol. It wasn’t snarling whatsoever. It looked sad, almost helpless. Without any thought, the prince kneeled, hesitated before holding out his hand. The animal stumbled as it walked, immediately showing it was hurt. Despite this, it sniffed Chanyeol’s hand over until it nuzzled his hand. It’s had yellowish eyes that blinked innocently, despite the fact its growl was frightening.

“Y…Yixing?” Chanyeol said, now that the wolf was led by his side, watching as the flame in the prince’s hand danced in the small breeze.

The others turned to face him, suddenly terrified of what was happening. Yixing pushed his hand out and forced a health bar to appear

. It had 20 percent left of it’s life. He couldn’t tell if, or where it was wounded at all. But before he could get any closer, Chanyeol screamed.

The wolf sunk its teeth further into his forearm, causing blood to pool around it’s teeth that were deep inside his arm. If Chanyeol moved, the wolf would tear his skin down to his wrist. He managed to turn his head, yet not enough to see the others. He had fallen for a wolfs stupid tricks. For Chanyeol his vision went dark, like he was in a blacked-out room. There was no furniture, and no objects in this space, just open. Oh god, Chanyeol was dead, wasn’t he? The boy couldn’t figure out what was happening, but suddenly, the forest came back to his view, although it was blurred. Baekhyun had ran forward after Kyungsoo, scared the younger would frighten the wolf into further hurting Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo had instantly forced the wolf off, without tearing the youngers skin. Chanyeol fell onto Kyungsoo, who held him tight at Yixing had to heal the bite.

“Only Chanyeol could have that happen to him.” Whispered Kai from beside Baekhyun.

Once Chanyeol was awake again, they decided to get Sehun to carry him on his back, as the youngest was roughly the same height, give or take a few centimeters. Sehun’s arms were tight around the elder’s legs, keeping him in place for a long as needed. Baekhyun stayed beside Suho and Kyungsoo, as those two seemed to have memorised the route.

Chen remembered the time when Luhan woke him up, whispering something about a storm coming. At that time, Chen was still learning how to control his power and was soaking up all the help he could get. Together, the two sat in the rain, awaiting the thunder to arrive so Chen could practise his power. That was the first time Chen ever summoned lightening. It was a strong feeling surging through his body that almost hurt.

“Is there a point where we need to turn?” Baekhyun asked, pulling Chen out of his trance.

“There is not.” Suho replied, keeping his gaze locked forward.

Silence washed over the group as they continued to walk further into the forest. The rain had luckily eased off, leaving only dark grey clouds looming over their head. The trees grew thicker, hiding the sky from view, their bark a deep brown and cracked. Gnarly roots snaked across the floor, stopping at the edge where a pathway seemed to have formed. The sun was completely hidden now, plunging the realm into darkness as a storm loomed overhead. Baekhyun quickly encased his hands is a beam of bright light, now allowing the princes to see where they were heading. As Xiumin was at the back, he did a quick head count within his head, a sigh of relief when he counted nine, including himself. In the darkness, anyone could get lost, and Xiumin didn’t think he could deal with another person going missing.

A little while ago, Chen went missing. It was the dead of night when Kai woke everybody up, saying Chen wasn’t in bed. All of them were suddenly alert, even if their minds were misted over with sleep. After searching the castle, they were struck with a problem.

Chen wasn’t in the castle.

Suho had a meltdown, afraid he’d lost another one of his team, but Xiumin calmed him down, saying they would find him. Despite having to calm down the leader, Xiumin also felt sick, the eldest wishing they would just stay together forever. The princes of EXO ended up in the middle of the forest, where they found Chen. His pale hands carried deep slits that ran from his palms and split of into different directions, but it was a cut, not an injury from his lightening. Together, all eight sat around Chen as he attempted to explain through the tears. He thought he wasn’t worthy of holding a power, so he tried to get rid of them, which he knew was impossible, yet he tried. Xiumin remembered that time, as he stayed awake the rest of the night, watching over Chen as he slept, making sure he was okay. From that day forward, Chen holds almost beautiful lightening scars on his hands.

Sehun pulled Chanyeol higher on his back, keeping his eyes forward as they continued to walk. If an outsider was to look at the situation, they would say there was no effort involved to get to the bridge, but if you asked them, EXO would have an answer. They knew Molaarg wouldn’t do anything unless they were there, attempting to defeat him. And they will. They will defeat him. Molaarg wanted a fight, he wanted to see them suffering, so he wouldn’t touch his prisoners until they were reunited. Sehun smiled when he heard a soft, small faint snore fall from Chanyeol, the elder somewhat comfortable on his back. Suho reached up, tucking the taller prince’s cape around him.

“Is he asleep?” Sehun whispered.

“It looks like it. Is it hurting you?” The leader asked.

Sehun shook his head, as the elder was certainly lighter than he had expected. Kyungsoo grabbed Baekhyun shoulder, making a him yelp suddenly.

“God, Kyungsoo… What’s up?” Baekhyun asked once the shorter was beside him.

“Nothing, but I think we are almost there.” He replied.

Baekhyun nodded, turning his head to check of the others. A crack of thunder echoed around them, like the noise had been blasted in an arena. Everyone in the group flinched, turning around to face darkness. Chen held up his hands like something was aimed at his face, showing that no, he hadn’t made that lightening. Baekhyun ran in-between them, pushing the ball of light forward, throwing the area into focus immediately. Nothing was there, just an empty space. As Baekhyun clicked his fingers, it area went fell dark once more. “Should we carry on?”

Kai whispered as he pulled away from Kyungsoo. Before anyone could answer, Baekhyun spoke up.

“I’m scared.”

Baekhyun was never scared. Even if he was, he’d keep it a secret from everybody. Neither Yixing or Chanyeol had told Baekhyun about his nightmare, worried about bringing it up in case it meant something in real life. Like Yixing knew, dreams could mix with reality. Yixing moved forward, wrapping a slim arm round his waist.

“Come on, we should find somewhere to stay. Kyungsoo, can you do that?”

“I’ve already found one, just follow me.” Kyungsoo replied, taking Kai’s hand.

Suho had already slotted his hand into Baekhyun’s, holding it tighter with each step taken. As they followed Kyungsoo, the group ventured away from the path and deeper into the forest where it was dim and dungy. The leaves covering the floor were a golden yellow, some turned brown where the winter had gotten to them. Xiumin liked the crunch they had under his footsteps, along with the eight other footsteps that were around him. Eagles circled above them, high in the sky where nothing could bother them. Kyungsoo always wanted to fly, something he thought impossible until he met Yifan. He was so transfixed with the elder’s powers, more than excited when he was allowed to join him in the sky.

The nine soon arrived at another open space deep in the forest. It was just large enough for all of them to try and lie down. Sleep was a thing of doubt at that moment, as everyone was on edge.

“Guessing no one packed blankets?” Baekhyun said as he helped Kai make a pointer showing them the way back to the path, but they trusted Kyungsoo to get them back.

“I did, but most of us will have to share.” Yixing replied before passing the bag he was carrying towards Suho, who opened it up.

As the night began to set in, the elders of the group, Suho and Yixing, watched over as their group soon fell asleep. Kyungsoo was curled up against Kai, Baekhyun the same with Chanyeol. Xiumin had his arms encircled around Chen so tight the younger probably couldn’t move without forcibly waking the prince up just to roll over. Sehun was the only one alone, but everyone was a light sleeper in these situations, so they were ready for a fight whatever the time.

This entire mission seemed to bring back many memories from the happier days. Tao was the third youngest, then Kai and Sehun. Tao was incredibly good at martial arts, which was scary at times. Despite this, Tao got scared easily. Mostly by the ghosts they told him were not real but after the attack of something they knew as a myth, anything could be possible.

Suho was leaning against Yixing as he slowly dozed of against the younger prince’s shoulder, finding some comfort. There was always a burden that came with the job of leader. Suho took the world on his shoulders when he began to lead eleven people and an entire kingdom. When Yifan came into his room that day and explained how he would help him be a leader, Suho didn’t want to burden him as well, but Yifan insisted. So, there was two leaders. Not for long though.

As Yixing fell asleep, he managed to lie both down without waking the elder. His eyes slowly closed as he allowed sleep to take over, encasing his mind in a state of dream.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Molaarg giggled as he watched his prisoners fall. He had injected them with black magic, a metallic like liquid that invaded the blood streams. It decreased their already weak powers, and now they were weaker than ever. The metal in the liquid let him control when they passed out or had the seizures. Luhan was the only person who would pass out without getting it forced upon him, mainly due to his wound. Molaarg had caused it, his sword piercing the skin before it delved into Luhan’s body. Blood dripped onto the floor, little specks of black magic escaping. Both Yifan and Tao were yelling, trying to rip their way out of the strong grasps of monsters keeping them in place. Both gave up in the end, watching as Luhan winced in pain, but no tears fell from his eyes.

The only time the poor boy cried was when they were in the cages, when they were alone, and no one could hear them.

“Yifan… They’ll find us, right?” Luhan had whispered.

Yifan didn’t answer, as he truly didn’t know anymore.

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 


	8. Chapter Seven

**LUHAN POV**

As we grew up, I learned that darkness was somewhat comforting. The fire, people thought was dangerous, was safe to me and others. I remembered my past, the past others did not have. I was created knowing two languages, one that only Yifan, Tao, Yixing and I could speak. All four of us could speak it, along with the language our other brothers could. I barely spoke of my past, but when I did, I pretended they were horrible nightmares, when they were really memories I had to hold secret. I don’t know why though, they wouldn’t be angry.

I trusted EXO with my life. All of them. Even when I’m ensnared here, unable to escape. Like an animal.

But the fire inside was taking me away, and I must fight it.

I couldn’t tell him, but Baekhyun was just like me. We both endured the same past, but he didn’t remember his. I knew him so well in both worlds. He would still smile the same, say the same words that sent me into déjà vu. How could he not remember?

Baekhyun, I’m not asking you to do anything. It’s not me, it’s Molaarg. Don’t do anything he asks.

But… Baekhyun… If the fire does take my body, do not chase me. Stay in this world and do not follow me to the underworld. I want you to live on in a happy life, not live the horrid, torture in the underworld.

**BAEKHYUN POV**

STOP! Please… Please stop! I’m not like this! I don’t want to hurt anybody, I promise.

But I know you won’t listen to my useless words that fall apart. You’ll just watch me fail over and over again until I fall at your feet and follow your damned orders. You took them away from us, you hurt them without knowing what it’s like.

I can’t understand what this means. Why am I like this? Why can I hear voices!?

Luhan please tell me! Don’t leave me behind like this…

I want to follow you. Even if its to hell and back. I want to be with you. Luhan please get Molaarg to stop this, I will not follow his orders, even if it kills me.

You know I only say forever and a day to people I keep close. I’ve said it to everyone, even Kyungsoo!

So please, protect me for forever and a day!

**LUHAN**

Baekhyun needs to be reminded of the past life he was in. I couldn’t tell you about anyone else, not even Yifan, but I could about Baekhyun.

But I’m not going to. I won’t tell you.

Because Baekhyun should know first, as least that. I won’t leave you behind Baek, I promise, but listen to me at least for once.

I asked the creator of all of us to send Chanyeol. I know, I just know, he will take care of you. He wasn’t created just for your protection. He is there for you to talk to, someone to hug when tears are pooling in your gentle eyes.

Baekhyun, you are the very opposite of what world you came from. You are the light in this world, the happiness. And Chanyeol will be there forever.

Forever and a day.


	9. Chapter Eight

Chanyeol woke up the moment Baekhyun moved, like the elder’s tiny movement had awoken him. As he sat up, the prince looked around and let the blanket fall onto his lap. The trees around them were slightly lit by the rising sun that filtered through the leaves. Realising nothing had happened during the night, he sighed and stood up, hopping over people’s legs to get to the now dead fire. Standing on the legs of others was not on his current agenda, along with falling over and breaking something.

Placing some of the crunchy leaves onto the circles they created, he hovered his hands over the pile before it immediately caught light, flames flickering and encircling each other. He sat for a moment, waiting for his body to warm up. Suho’s arm was still draped over Yixing’s chest and a little smile on his face. There was a cough, but Chanyeol didn’t know who it came from until Sehun sat up.

“Chan?”

“Yep, it’s me Sehun.” Chanyeol replied as the younger came to sit on the opposite side of the fire.

The fire in the middle was just beginning to warm them up when a gust of wind passed through the area, chilling them to the bone. Both were holding out their hands, getting them closer to the fire so they were no longer numb from a night’s worth of cold. Sehun was surprised they weren’t blue.

**“Protect him Chanyeol. Protect them all.”**

Chanyeol flinched, like he was trying to move away from the voice that was clearly inside his head.

“Did you hear that?” He whispered to Sehun.

“Hear what?”

Sehun’s face was plastered with thick confusion, showing Chanyeol that no one else heard that. It didn’t hurt like Molaarg’s voice had done. Subconsciousness forced him to look behind him, only to find an endless scene of trees that hadn’t changed overnight, except a few leaves that had fallen off in the light breeze.

“Nothing…. Just nothing.”

Chanyeol hated lying, it was something no one should have to do. The only time Chanyeol thought it was appropriate to lie was when it was when reassuring someone. No, no one knew whether they would get to save Yifan, Luhan or Tao, but they were going to try. Could he protect them all? That’s eight people, some older than him, some more powerful than him. If he couldn’t save them, would he die? Probably. At least, that’s what Chanyeol thought.

The sun was now above the trees, no one actually knowing the time. With the help of Sehun, Chanyeol woke everybody up with a gentle shake to the shoulder. Fortunately, Suho was the only one who grabbed Chanyeol, thinking he was someone he wasn’t. Fear was laced in both their eyes when they locked eyes.

“I’m so sorry…” Suho replied when they were sat up, “It didn’t register.”

Kyungsoo rummaged through his bag before handing each member an oat cake that he amazing at making. God knows how much time Kyungsoo spent cooking these things, as he said they took a while. Deep down, Kai hoped cooking didn’t take up too much of his time, although the elder prince seemed to be fond of the hobby.

“Should I make it snow later? It maybe a little fun at least…” Xiumin said, cocking his head a little to look like a confused puppy. He was excited about the idea that had entered his head. Suho had a challenging time not pointing out how much Xiumin looked like a child and let Kyungsoo answer the question.

“We are actually on time. We should get to the bridge in about an hour if we make an effort. So yes, Xiumin, we can have some snow.”

Xiumin smiled as if he were a child, despite being the eldest of the nine. Of the twelve princes in fact. Once they finished up, the princes set about gathering and folding the blankets whilst Yixing redid the bandage on Chanyeol’s arm. The wound wasn’t as deep as both boys thought, but Yixing wanted to make sure the remaining dents didn’t get irritated by Chanyeol’s sleeve. They were all glad at least one person knew something about health and first aid. Sehun was trying not to shiver as another breeze sifted in-between the trees, making the foliage about them rustle. It was creepy in a way. It reminded Sehun that not every natural weather like wind or rain was an effect of a power like theirs, and that they weren’t in control of everything that happened around them. Looking around him, Sehun watched as everyone was busy collecting their things, packing them as they were due to leave. A shot of confusion hit Sehun.

Some of them had the elements of everyday weather, but couldn’t always control when or where it happened.

Shaking his head, the youngest of the group continued to fold his blanket and shove it in the bag that was slowly being passed around to each pair that shared a blanket.

Finally, everyone was ready to leave the makeshift campsite. The route back to the path was not at all familiar, despite having walked it the night before. Although, all the trees looked the same now, even the birch ones that stood out from the dark oaks.

“Does this forest go on forever?” Chen asked aloud when they left the clearing and stepped onto the path again, glad to be back on route.

“They were not there last night.” Baekhyun almost yelled, pointing to the pathway, also completely ignoring Chen’s question.

Dark red sets of footprints led as far as the eye could see, as if to lead the way. When Baekhyun stepped towards them, the set behind him disappeared, like it had soaked into the soil like ink on paper. He jumped forward, and once again, the footsteps behind him vanished. When he leaned down and dipped his finger into the scarlet shape, it trickled down his finger and fell like small streams into the cracks in his palm.

It was blood.

Baekhyun stumbled backwards, away from the shapes, trying rapidly to get it off his hand, but it seemed to be staining.

“It won’t come off!” He yelled, panicking now.

Chanyeol grabbed his wrist to pull Baekhyun round. Immediately, Suho used his powers to wipe away the blood, only leaving behind a slight tint of crimson. At that point, Baekhyun’s body stopped shaking. The prince hated blood to a considerable extent, even when it was a little cut from paper or from the accidental slip of a knife. The entire idea of snow had erased from their minds.

“Follow them.” Chen suggested.

Instead of walking, the group decided to run as far as they could before getting drowsy. Suho and Kyungsoo were still leading, Xiumin and Sehun at the back. Being the tallest, Chanyeol was the fastest runner, so it was difficult trying not to take over Kyungsoo.

Suddenly, the forest ended. It was exactly how it looked on the map. The forest concluded at a straight line, like it had been drawn by a perfectionist. A deep crevice lay in the way, impossible to cross without using the bridge. But, of course, this was the bridge they were looking for. The grass was dead, a horrible brown colour that was dull. The sky was littered with white puffs of cloud and more birds circling above.

“Wait, what if this really is the entrance to hell?” Kai asked, pointing at the broken bridge. It was made from what looked like steel, imperfect in places where it had been worn away with weather.

“They we go to hell.” Sehun said, getting a thump on the back from Xiumin in return.

The group moved to stand on the bridge, not to far towards the edge. Looking over the edge, Yixing immediately regretting the action. The fall was about 200 feet, which would certainly kill you. Just the thought making him feel sick to the stomach. He could just imagine falling, it would feel like an eternity. Yixing wondered what would cross his mind in his last moments. Suho suddenly appeared next to him, using his long sleeve to dab away at the tears Yixing didn’t know were on his cheek. The younger sighed as he looked at Suho.

“Don’t let anyone fall.” Yixing replied to the elder’s expression.

“I can jump this.” Baekhyun thought aloud, purely by mistake.

A series of ‘no’s’ echoed the area as most of them yelled at the prince of light. He was teetering on the edge where the bridge was broken in the middle. The entire structure felt unstable even standing on it. Everyone was questioning what to do now that they were here. Would another messenger appear or would Molaarg himself show up? Without any thought, Baekhyun stepped backwards, still calculating the jump. It wasn’t THAT far. If Baekhyun fell, it wouldn’t be too bad, at least that’s what he thought.

**“Don’t you dare.”**

Baekhyun struggled not to flinch at the voice. Glancing round, the others still stood looking at the drop. They hadn’t heard it, but it didn’t sound like Molaarg, and didn’t hurt like his voice did. It almost sounded like Luhan, but that was impossible, right? His power would be too weak to get this far, although, who knew how far away they were.

“Watch me.” He whispered under his breath before beginning to sprint to the edge.

With one foot, he propelled himself off the fringe of the bridge. The drop beneath his was long, almost fascinating, but Baekhyun was still moving. For a moment, he thought he wouldn’t make it. But he did. With his feet firmly on the opposite side of the bridge, he turned to face the others.

“I told you.”

Everyone spun to face him, shocked at what he just did. But there was no time for Baekhyun to even swear as the steel broke under his feet. How could steel break that easily? As it fell, Baekhyun tried to grab something that clearly wasn’t there. Only one thing came to mind. He was going to die. He locked eyes with Chanyeol for half a second both trying to reach out.

The view of the others fell as Baekhyun’s body dropped, getting pulled by the force of gravity.

Chanyeol screamed, running forward only to be stopped by Kai, who held him tight to stop him from falling as well. Tears immediately rolled down most of the groups face, frightened of what had just happened. Baekhyun had made it across and then fallen along with the broken pieces of steel. Chen wanted to curse whoever built the bridge, as it really was a gateway to hell. Kyungsoo had reached out his arms just in time, feeling something in the force he was holding out. Having mass strength, Kyungsoo could stop things from falling at a rate. When he stumbled to the very edge, he looked down.

In the force field that Kyungsoo had somehow created with his strength, held Baekhyun. The prince of earth sighed, heavily relieved that the elder was alive, and hadn’t fallen 200 feet to his death.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yelled, now at the edge as well.

“Kyungsoo, don’t bring me up!” Baekhyun’s -terrified- voice echoed the crevice.

Where Baekhyun was, was high above a river than ran through the bottom, which was frozen over. Submerged underneath the thick layer of ice, sat what looked like a sword, and something laid across it, shining under the sun’s rays. If Baekhyun could break the ice enough, he could get them without freezing by the water.

Kyungsoo didn’t battle with the elder, as it would cost him his voice, so he lowered the prince to the ground where Baekhyun yelled up to say he was safe.

“If you can cross the bridge, do it now and run!” Baekhyun had yelled.

Whilst the group did whatever they were doing, Baekhyun searched around for a big enough stone to break the ice. The river seemed deep, as the layer of ice had held the prince’s weight. Plus, it was water from the mountains, so it was bound to be freezing, mainly from the winter that was slowly arriving.

“Perhaps I can melt it with light..” Baekhyun whispered to himself.

Encasing his hand with a ball of sparkling light, he held it close to the ice, shivering when his fingers made contact. Nothing happened. The ice needed something like fire to melt it or it needed cracking.

Cracking.

At this point, Baekhyun didn’t care that he was still shivering, but he slowly stepped onto the ice. This was one of the many idea’s that the prince had that might not work. Trying not to slip, he made his way forward to the middle of the frozen river, where underneath the sword and other object lay. Without even thinking, Baekhyun jumped.

Around him, the ice broken apart from each other, cracking with deep crevices. There was no time for Baekhyun to think before he was plunged into the freezing water below.


	10. Chapter Nine

Chanyeol was the last to be convinced to get over the gap, he just wanted to find Baekhyun. Sehun was able to use his wind power to push some of the others forward. Once they were safely across they had to run to the other side of the cliff, hoping the rest of the bridge was stable and wouldn’t fall under their collective moving weight. Luckily, the structure stayed perfectly still and didn’t fall apart.

“There’s got to be a way, down right?” Asked Chanyeol, still concerned about Baekhyun.

Which he should be.

Baekhyun’s senses were cold. Every single one of them. His eyes stung as the water came in contact with them, like they were burning. His joints started to become stuck in place, impossible to move. Despite this, he knew, he knew the sword was below him, but however hard he tried, he couldn’t move himself to get it.

That’s when he started to drown. His lungs ran out of oxygen as they filled with water where he tried to breath in. A surge of panic or adrenaline powered through him and he tried to use his power to alert someone. Baekhyun knew how to swim, but the water was too cold for him to even try. He was unable to tell how deep it was, as to him he was still sinking. Baekhyun was afraid to close his eyes, terrified he’d lose consciousness. In his mind, he was screaming. Screaming for something that wasn’t there to save him. But at the same time, he was screaming for anyone, trying to say there was a weapon down there. It was so painful, but nothing was going the way he wanted. He didn’t have powers like Luhan, he couldn’t talk to people through their heads, so the screaming was pretty much useless.

 

Chanyeol paused, the group around him suddenly aware of the prince stopping.

**“There’s a sword. And something else, I can’t make it out. It’s cold and I can’t breathe.”**

“He’s drowning!” Chanyeol hollered.

Before anyone could move, Kyungsoo had knelt, once again communicating with the earth, finding a way down. If this part of his power was visible, it would look like black vines crossing the earth in every direction, carrying questions and information like nerves in the human body. Kyungsoo often wished it were visible, but sometimes it was useful for it not to be. He didn’t want to scare people who didn’t know of his power. The others in the group waited patiently for him to gather an answer, which seemed to happen quickly.

“To the left of us should be a path that leads down. People used it for horses.” Kyungsoo explained.

Now running, the eight remaining ran in the direction of where the path should be, and luckily, it was still there after many years of not being used. It was steep and would be difficult to get down but Chanyeol didn’t care. He promised everyone including himself that he would protect them. And currently he was failing.

As they got to the river side, Xiumin noticed the cracks leading away from them. They were deep in the ice and would break the moment someone stood on it. As far as the eldest knew, this was the deepest river in the entire realm, unfortunately deep enough for someone to drown.

When Chanyeol noticed the large gap in the ice, his heart dropped. No words formed as he sprinted towards it. When he was stood beside it, he also saw the sword and what looked like a sceptre.

Without a second thought, Chanyeol engulfed himself in flames that wouldn’t die in the water and wouldn’t burn him or Baekhyun once he got to him.

Chanyeol dived into the water, still thankfully warm from the flames. Baekhyun was still sinking. The youngers long arms winded around Baekhyun’s cold body, bringing him close to be warmed by the fire. With the one arm not holding the elders body, he pulled both metal lengths from the floor and began to swim upwards, beginning to run out of air himself.

Yixing and Suho were there to pull them out, the sword and sceptre laying completely forgotten at the side. Chanyeol wouldn’t let Baekhyun go, the fire around him slowly dying down. Yixing had used his healing to dry both their clothes and make sure they were no longer freezing. Baekhyun took a while to regain consciousness, coughing up the water that was inside his lungs. Chanyeol would not tear his eyes away from the elder’s body. Once he was awake, Baekhyun was pulled into a strong hug, both boys burying their face in the others shoulder. Suho was holding onto both of them, so glad they were no longer cold and Baekhyun was still alive.

“Did you get the sword?” Baekhyun gasped, still struggling to use his lungs. Everyone was so surprised he had survived, as any longer in the water would’ve certainly killed him.

But something inside Baekhyun was telling him he couldn’t die. Something, no, someone was keeping him alive. But who? No one could do that, unless Yixing were to force his power to do so. Even then it would be painful for Yixing to do that.

“Oh my god.”

Everyone had to turn to face Kai, who held the sceptre. The sword was lying by his feet. The sceptre was a royal gold, an obsidian gem held tightly at the top by diamond lined claws. As Kai flicked it forward, the gem shined with some sort of power as it shot out what looked like Baekhyun’s light but black. Pitch black. It hit a stray bush, and the foliage immediately shattered like shards of glass.

“Kai, pass it to Sehun, see if he can use it or not.”

The sceptre was quickly passed to Sehun, who tried the exact same movement as Kai, but nothing seemed to happen. He tried several times, but no magic was expelled. The younger passed it to the other prince, as the other told him he had to keep it.

Chanyeol was asked to pick up the sword. His fingers seemed to tingle with the same feeling as his power. Messing about, he slashed the sword to his side, almost screaming at the reactions.

Where the sword has slashed through the air, fire followed the path of the sword. Thrusting the sword at Yixing, the elder tried exactly like Sehun, but this time, it worked.

“So, the sword isn’t to do with power. Just... fire?” Whispered Yixing, doing the movement again.

“Don’t let Chanyeol carry it. I somehow don’t trust Chanyeol with a sword.”

Kai always knew how to make everyone laugh. The prince of teleportation was still studying the sword he was passed when he noticed the engraved words that were carved carefully into the golden weapon. Baekhyun was still being hugged by Suho, who didn’t want to let him go. The leader had lost too many people in his life and wasn’t prepared for one more.

“I will only open one thing. I cut through metal and that will lead you to your destiny. Keep me until then. I will open the castle of the damned.”

Kai finished reading off what seemed to be a riddle.

“The sword must be used to get into a castle, the sceptre for something different.” Kyungsoo said taking the sword and passing the sceptre back to Kai.

“Maybe we can kill Molaarg with it?” Chen suggested as his pulled Baekhyun to his feet by the hand.

“It won’t be than easy Chen.” Kyungsoo replied. A few people groaned in response.

The group had to check on Baekhyun every so often, as the prince had fallen silent. He was still slightly shocked from almost drowning. His lungs were a little painful which would eventually wear away as he breathed for longer. Baekhyun had never respected the normal human action before until now.

Suho finally let go of the younger prince, pushing his hair aside so he could study his eyes. The leader smiled before knocking their foreheads together, something the group did with each other as a sign of relief and love. When Chen turned to face them, his smile grew larger, knowing Baekhyun was alive and kicking.

Once they were all stood, facing the direction they came to get back up the cliff, the cloud of mist reappeared.

“Again?” Whispered Sehun to nobody in particular.

It took form once more, the blue fog turning into a figure again. This time, Luhan stood. His arm was tightly wrapped around his stomach, hiding something. The smile on his cracked lips was forced and clearly pained. The elder’s brown eyes held unshed tears, like he was waiting for the mist force to end. How could Molaarg make something like this? It was so futuristic that it almost hurt to understand how it could happen.

“You have to continue the direction you were going. You will come across a village.”

Luhan’s voice was slow, nothing like it was two years ago. He moved his arm a little, dropping it to his side, revealing the wound on his side. A gasp echoed the entire group. Sehun stumbled forward, standing in front of the mist, holding out his hand. Luhan raised his arm, the tears finally falling from his doe eyes.

“We are going to save you. I promise.” Sehun whispered.

No one moved when Luhan fell unconscious, body dropping to the floor. The black and red blood spilt from his wound as Sehun stepped back. Xiumin ran forward, hands covering the youngest’s eyes before the mist disappeared into the air.

“Was he… in pain?” Kai asked, not really wanting answer.

Suho moved forward, whispering something into Xiumin’s ear. The two eldest gently pulled Sehun back before the remaining princes encased him in a hug. Sehun’s sobs grew harsh, the thought of his best friend in so much pain that he passed out. Yixing’s arms were tight around the youngest, making sure he didn’t do something irrational. To Sehun, Luhan was much more than just a best friend.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Tao watched as Luhan was carried back in, clearly unconscious from something. Whilst the eldest’s cage was lowered down from the ceiling, Tao looked across the hall at Yifan, who couldn’t take his eyes from Luhan. The elder’s hands were gripped to the bars, as if he would be able to break them.

Molaarg had some humanity in him, if that were possible. He kept the three princes sane by giving them puzzles to either solve or create, and then he would put them somewhere in his castle. Some of the puzzles they created were based around elements or specific letters. Yifan was smart when it came to these, making some of the solutions something he knew EXO would know. As time passed, the puzzles seemed to get larger, taking more time for them to solve. Luhan was never given any, as he was unable to do it fast enough before losing consciousness.

It pained Yifan and Tao to know how much Luhan was hurt, how he couldn’t do anything because his wound was taking away his energy. Even on the days when he did have the energy, he was taken away by Molaarg to do god knows what. Yifan’s mind was stronger than theirs, him being slightly older. He was able to think of answers quicker and understand questions. Yifan liked to help Tao whenever he could, making sure the things that needed doing got done. He didn’t want anyone getter hurt further, even though he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

What Luhan wasn’t telling them, was the bond connecting him and Baekhyun. Their pasts had been combined. Luhan wasn’t telling them he had been connecting Baekhyun’s mind with Chanyeol. The elder could hear most things that Baekhyun thought, the things he wanted people to hear. Chanyeol on the other hand, was hearing the things he needed to hear to be able to help Baekhyun.

If anything, bad were to happen to Baekhyun, Luhan would feel responsible, like most of the princes would. But Luhan was different. He held many secrets that would lead to all hell if Molaarg knew. Maybe he did know? The simple thought of that made Luhan shiver. He could take over the world if he knew their secrets. If he had their powers, even worse could happen.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 


	11. Chapter Ten

Sehun was the most protected member of EXO, being the youngest and the one who appeared in the most dangerous way. He would’ve died if it wasn’t for them. The simple though put Suho on edge, wanting to turn around and check on the group he was leading like a mother duck, checking over her weak and scared little ducklings. Suho felt different about every single one of his group, including the ones older than him. Yixing held a place in his heart, something all of EXO knew. The prince of healing always put others first, an action that would, one day, lead to his death. Suho had never spoken to Yixing about how he felt, but there was something between them that was undeniable.

Yifan offered to be leader because he saw the way Suho struggled. He felt the pang in his heart grow bigger every time he failed at protecting one of them, even if it was Kyungsoo slipping with a knife he was using. Even then, the situation could’ve been avoided if he was a little more careful, but Suho still felt it was his fault. Yifan took that away, took the pressure of caring for all the members alone away. He became the father duck, if you will.

At first, Baekhyun kept a distance from Yifan. The younger was afraid of him, something inside his body telling him to be. Luhan was the only one able to convince him that Yifan was a nice person, and wasn’t going to bite if he got too close. Thinking back on it, Luhan can only roll his eyes and huff a laugh. How could someone fear Yifan? He was a gentle giant, much like Chanyeol. Both boys hated their height, nothing like Sehun and Tao who loved being taller than the rest.

Chen was the first to leave the group hug, walked away from the huddle to stare at the sky. It wasn’t getting dark, but the clouds were beginning to clear once more, leaving behind a large space of baby blue sky.‘How could these be the gates of hell?’ he thought. Looking back, the others had broken apart, joining him at staring at the sky.

“We should get walking, like Luhan said.” Xiumin said, pushing his hand into Chen’s.

The younger looked down at their interlaced hands, smiling weakly as his train of thought was still staying at Luhan, the elder occupying everyone’s mind.

“As long as you can Baekhyun.” Suho said, facing the prince in question.

“I am fine, don’t worry.”

The group began to head for the way they came, somehow getting back up the hill they struggled to get down. The cliff beside them was eroding, much like the bridge was, with the harsh weather that had happened in the past. The aura around them was dim like a dying candle, the sight of a pained, hurt Luhan imprinted on their minds. There seemed to be only one way to go, straight ahead where another opening to the forest was. Glancing behind them, Chanyeol spotted that the trees were much darker on this side of the bridge. A sudden wave of homesickness hit him. One part of him wanted to go back to the castle, where everything was safe and sound, the other part of him telling him, forcing him to go find and safe Yifan, Luhan and Tao. They were still alive, it was just a matter of time.

They had a tough time telling if Sehun was alright, as the youngest had tears in his eyes but stayed silent as they continued to walk.

“Hey, can you remember that time when Kai was trying to cook those cookies and Kyungsoo chased him around the castle?” Chanyeol asks, laughter erupting from everyone in the group, especially Kai who often thought about the day.

“And it ended in that pillow fight where Baekhyun fell off the sofa and onto Yifan.” Chen chimed in, creating more happiness.

EXO were modest when it came to speaking and acting in public, but away from the view of the people they reigned over, they were the happiest people alive. The games they played would go on for hours sometimes, even into the dead of night. They rarely used their powers when it came to games, except if it was something they had to act out, and it was easier to use them. Together, they had some weird experiences and memories that would take hours, days or even weeks for them to write down or tell. Xiumin could easily sit in a room for a day and not talk about anything else but the memories they made together, all twelve of the.

“And that time when Tao was trying to teach us his martial arts and Chanyeol dropped he bamboo stick on his foot.” Sehun says, deep in thought himself.

“Hey that hurt!” Chanyeol cried out, waving his arms to animate the words

. The trees were tall, looming over the grass where nothing had walked over it for what must be a thousand years. Horses and carriages gave up transporting things when the bridge was destroyed, finding other, longer ways to the other side. A part of Baekhyun was glad he had fallen but was still confused who was keeping him alive. Was it the person who created them? Maybe that’s who was keeping his heart beating in that freezing water. If so, why didn’t he appear in a solid form, like a human or something. That way, Chanyeol wouldn’t have had to dive into the water to get him, soaking him to the bone as well. Luckily, Yixing’s healing could dry things, something they found out when they found another little girl, young and freezing, lost from her parents. She wouldn’t leave Yifan’s side, scared of most of the other princes. Yixing had dried her clothing without knowing he could do it, and before night fell, they found her parents and returned her home.

Sehun tripped on a raised tree root, thankfully catching his balance before falling on his face. Chanyeol turned quickly, taking the youngers wrist and asking if he was alright. The prince of wind nodded pulling his wrist, so their hands met. Chanyeol had a caring streak in his personality, that sparked off in different directions depending on the situation. He was different from the group, like each of them were, but everyone knew he had a certain purpose for this world that would one day become obvious. Perhaps he was destined to do this journey. Just thinking about that made him feel giddy.

Kai’s thoughts were at another dimension completely, making him unaware of his surroundings. He began to ignore everything that was happening, just moving one-foot in front of the other. Kyungsoo noticed this, quickly grabbing his waist before the younger fell and hurt his ankle in a rabbit burrow. Despite this sudden movement, Kai still didn’t return to reality. This forced Kyungsoo to stop, the group haltering around him.

“Kai?” Kyungsoo looked up at the taller, trying to get him out of this trance.

The youngers eyes were blank, showing no emotion whatsoever, somewhat scaring the group. There was no time to process him falling until the weight fell on Kyungsoo chest, pushing him into Yixing who held both of them still. Yixing slowly brought the three of them down onto the grassy floor, where Kyungsoo moved Kai’s head onto his lap. The younger was unconscious. By what, they didn’t know.

**Black roses littered where they stood, something Kai thought was impossible.A black rose didn’t exist, did it? Finally looking up, Kai was surrounded by darkness. He cried out for Baekhyun, for Kyungsoo, for anyone. But no one came. Not even Suho. Had his cry been to quiet? Or were they really not here? Hot, salty tears tricked slowly down his check, suddenly aware of how alone he really was. But they promised. EXO promised they would stay together forever. Something was wrong. No one in EXO would break such a meaningful oath. Thinking back to Kyungsoo, the prince tried to teleport to where his aura was coming from, but he didn’t move. That meant the aura didn’t exist.**

**Trying ever other member of the group, including Tao, he failed at teleporting to them, as the aura was not there. If it didn’t exist that meant…. They were dead…**

Kai began to thrash violently, just like Baekhyun did after his nightmare but with more force, being physically stronger than the elder. Suho was quick to act, taking the youngers ankles and moving them down to a position where the leader could sit on his legs, preventing him from hurting anyone, or more importantly, prevent him from hurting himself. Sehun was helping Chanyeol hold his arms, almost getting smashed in the face themselves. Kyungsoo tried to ignore the pang in his heart that came when Kai cried out, nothing comprehensible.

**When Kai turned round, Kyungsoo was stood there, holding a red rose which stood out from his completely white outfit. He gripped it close to his heart, like it was his saving grace. Kai reached out, trying to smile but gave up quickly. Kyungsoo shoved the rose at him, making him take it. As Kai gripped it, the thorns broke the skin, small pools of blood circling the spikey thorn.**

**“Kyungsoo… I’ll miss you.” Kai whispered before the world truly went dark.**

“Come on Kai, wake up.” Kyungsoo mumbled as the younger relaxed finally, eyes still closed lightly.

When he finally came round, Kai looked terrified, unable to move properly because of Suho, who was still sat on the youngers legs. He looked confused, almost hurt. His mouth opened and closed as he forgot the words he was going to say. A sigh escaped his lips when he realised it was a dream, or a vision. Whatever it was had put him on edge. With a sudden burst of movement, Kai sat up and practically launched himself at Kyungsoo, wrapping his arms round his torso.

“You were gone, I couldn’t teleport to any of you. Oh my god, I thought you were dead.” He began to ramble, trying to go through everything that happened as quick as possible.

Kyungsoo was stunned to the bone, shaking that off before he hugged back. Hopefully, Kai wouldn’t feel the intense beating of the elder’s heart.

Kyungsoo could talk for hours about Kai, the younger being someone to light up his eyes on the darker days. The prince of earth loved to watch Kai dance, his legs and arms moving in sync, like he had practised this for hours on end. Maybe he had, Kyungsoo didn’t know. There was never any music for Kai to dance to, but the movements almost created their own. Baekhyun would try and join in, his dancing along the same level as Kai’s. Chanyeol was never given the chance to dance as everyone stopped him before he even tried. Suho wanted Tao to be here to use his power to freeze time so they could watch them hug for a little longer. It was rare for Kyungsoo to engage in any type of physical contact.

“Can we carry on?” Kai whispered as he pulled away, but Kyungsoo quickly shook his head.

“I think we should put up camp for the night. Suho?”

“Yes, I agree, but lets find somewhere out of view.”

 

“I’m too cold to sleep.” Chen whispered as he looked up at the sky. He had silently walked away from the group to sit on the lower branch of a tree, still in sight of someone if they woke up but high enough to see the stars above them. They glittered gently, reminding the prince of lightening that he wasn’t alone in this universe. If he were to talk now, the only person to listen would be the stars.

“Chen?”

The prince felt a weight beside him but didn’t move as another person joined him. Suddenly, warmth engulfed him as a blanket was wrapped round his shoulders, alongside someones arm. Not really caring who it was, Chen shuffled along the branch to bask in the warmth the person brought.

“I’m guessing you are Xiumin.” Chen whispered.

“Well done.” The elder giggled, “ You should come lie down. It would hurt you neck a lot less.”

Chen mumbled a quick ‘yes’, letting Xiumin pulled him down onto the ground where all eight of them were going to sleep. Xiumin allowed Chen to just make himself as small as possible, fingers curling and uncurling against the elders chest.

“Damn, I wish Chanyeol was awake.” Chen muttered, Xiumin immediately understanding what he meant as the younger could warm them all up. But right now, the other prince was fast asleep, still protective curled around Baekhyun with Yixing and Suho on the other side.

Xiumin shucked the blanket from off him, using the large blanket to tuck Chen in, snug as a bug. The younger tried to refuse but Xiumin was insistent.

And soon, Chen was fast asleep as well, Xiumin smiling as he watched him relax into sleep. Now that the younger was warm and asleep, Xiumin could relax.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**TAO POV**

Yifan. Wu Yifan.

I remember the day you were cast into this world. We were all together, minus Sehun. You were afraid, despite your cold steely features.

Slowly but surely, I began to feel safe around you’re presence, like everyone I think.

When we finally get let out, I want to hug you. I bet I’m like a twig compared to you. But just promise me we can escape, this time, without getting captured. Stupid traps. I’m glad it was only me who got taken, as I doubt Baekhyun couldn’t have lasted this long.

Did you hear Luhan last night, after he came back from the misty thing they worked out?

He cried. It was really heartbreaking to listen to. I forced myself to speak to him. He told me they were a village away. Really, Yifan, their close. But Luhan had fainted infront of them, and now they know of his injury. He said Sehun was upset, and couldn’t control his tears.

I’ll see you soon… Hopefully.

But you’ll keep hope right? Don’t give up on us.

**XIUMIN POV**

Chen looked peaceful whilst asleep. His features were completely relaxed whilst his body was tucked in tight. Although I was freezing, I let the younger have the blanket, as he was shivering more often and more violently than I was. Plus, he was younger than me. Being the prince of ice and snow, I was no stranger to the cold.

A sudden idea popped into my head and I immediately had to rethink it before it became a serious thing. What if I froze Chen’s lightening? What would that cause?

If it hurt him, I would never forgive myself.

Rolling over, I stared up at the stars. For once, I didn’t regret what we were doing. We were going to get our family home.

**KRIS POV**

I think I heard Luhan crying last night. I think I heard Tao trying to calm him down. God, I just wish this would end.

Tao didn’t deserve this, neither did Luhan. If anyone deserved this, it was me. I brought this with me when I was cast in. I was the Prince of Flight, the one that people wanted dead from the start. So, when Molaarg attacked I didn’t listen to their advice. We should’ve stayed hidden like Xiumin and Suho insisted. But no, I had to drag them out to try and fight. And now, three of them were trapped. It was all my fault.

Everything is my fault.

**SUHO POV**

I want Yixing to be awake. I want to cry into his shoulder and tell him everything was wrong. I hate being the leader, everything was forced upon me. But I could take it.

I just need Yixing and Yifan by my side.

**SEHUN POV**

Suho’s awake. If I move, he’ll notice my presence and pretend to be asleep.

Tao, I hope you are okay, and not too worried about us. Please look after Luhan and Yifan, even if you can’t do anything physically. They need the support.

Yifan, I hope that you are not hurt like Luhan was. It hurts to see him like that and I just want to hold him for an eternity.

Luhan… Please stay with me.

With us.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Waking up in an unfamiliar place was always a fear of Chen’s. He didn’t want to be taken away in the night and wake up somewhere he couldn’t get out. When he finally opened his eyes to find a pair of eagles circling above, fear was the first thing he thought. Sitting up and finding the rest of his friends beginning to awaken, his mind rested a little. Each of them looked happier than they had been the entire trip to get here.

Xiumin was beside him, speaking to Yixing on the other side.

“Did you sleep at all?” Chen had to ask, as he forgot what happened the night before.

“Of course. I just made sure you were warm first.” Xiumin replies, pulling Chen as both boys moved to stand.

The mood surrounding them was lighter than before, Sehun and Kai running around trying to catch each other in an effort to waste some time and energy whilst the elders ate some more oatcakes that Kyungsoo had brought. Baekhyun was sure his resources were unlimited, as he would keep producing cakes from his bag to chuck at people. Kyungsoo found it funny watching Sehun and Kai playing. It made his heart warm.

All of them froze when Sehun tripped, tensing up for the moment he fell into the woodland ground. But nothing came, and Kai teleported in front of him to catch him.

“What?” Whispered Sehun, still in Kai’s arms and more confused than ever.

“You fell. I caught you.” The older boy replied, as if Sehun really didn’t understand the situation.

“But you’ve never done that before.”

“Maybe I’m more scared that you’ll get hurt.”

And with that Kai walked away from the entire group and just like that, the mood was quiet once more. Suho and Yixing started to gather their things, making the others do so as well. Kyungsoo told them to stay put as he took off running into the forest, trying to find Kai. The forest was no place for running away, especially when their monsters somewhere in this realm ready to kill them. Thankfully, Kyungsoo found him quickly, taking his time convincing him to come back.

Kai was kicking the leaves around on the floor, his boots scuffing at the action. Kyungsoo calloused hand took the youngers, pulling him to look at him. Kai couldn’t force out any words, but he just rested his head on the shorters shoulder.

“Let’s go back.”

Chen had fallen over twice in the time they took waiting for Kyungsoo and Kai, ending up with a large cut down his hand. It was deep and probably would need stitches if it wasn’t for Yixing’s power.

He had been carefully watching a deer, trying to get near it without scaring it away, but fell in the process. A sharp thorn made a slit down his entire palm. Not wanting Yixing to use anymore of his power, he clamped his other hand over it, not noticing the blood that dripped in between each of his fingers.

Xiumin instinctively went to hold Chen’s hand when he gasped loudly and pulled it away, now showing the cut to everyone. Each had a different reaction, mainly gasping or standing up to run and help. The blood was steadily increasing now that nobody was holding the wound.

“What the hell did you do?!” Cried Xiumin as Suho and Yixing bounded over to wash the cut and heal it. Chen felt tears in his eyes as he struggled to explain.

“There was a doe.” He mumbled, wincing as the water was poured from Suho’s fingertip and onto his palm. Yixing cupped his hand before healing the wound. It was a tingling sensation that felt much weirder than the actual cut had felt. He was hoping it wouldn’t scar, another one on his palm to add to the lightening shaped ones.

“I didn’t know you liked nature.” Yixing said, smiling sweetly.

Chen’s eyes widened at the realisation that they weren’t angry at him for getting hurt. Although he had wasted a small amount of power, it was nothing compared to what they might need to heal either Luhan or Tao, as they didn’t know about Yifan. Yixing looked away, whistling a little before the same doe came back, more confident than ever before. As two walked away from the group so that they didn’t scare it. Yixing pushed him forward gently, the doe trusting Chen as it walked forward. The animal was beautiful, it’s eyes reminding him of Luhan, the elder having doe like eyes, a soft brown colour.

Baekhyun was still curled up against Chanyeol when his mind went fuzzy as something was clearly there.

_“Baekhyun? I don’t… Don’t know if you can hear me… but please… Please help me.”_

“LUHAN!” Baekhyun yelled, shooting up into a standing position. Tears were already present in his eyes.

 

Once again, the group were walking down the path once more, keeping an eye on Kai and Baekhyun the most.

If anyone had the time to tell the story of Baekhyun and Luhan, they would. Perhaps it would take years, or even an hour. Only Luhan could really tell the story in truth, without writing a myth or legend that was false.

Luhan hated the underworld and was currently hating the overworld. Being caged and tortured like this was the same as the hellish realm that lie thousands of dimensions away. It sent a shudder through the prince of telekinesis when he remembered the things they did, the people born from fire. If Luhan was to really tell you the truth, he’d have to tell you the memory of Baekhyun’s wings. They were like a story in themselves.

In the underworld, every person every creature had wings. Baekhyun sacrificed himself when it came to their punishment, saying the guards of hell could cut off his wings as long as they allowed Luhan to keep his. Luhan tried to stop him, but no words prevailed anyone. Baekhyun returned to the area they were kept with no wings and a torn pack, lines from his shoulders to the middle of his back, where nothing was there. That night, Luhan wrapped his own around the two to keep them warm throughout the night.

 

Baekhyun meant so much to Luhan, so much that Luhan begged on his knees for the creator of them to form Chanyeol, so, if anything ever happened, Baekhyun would have a guardian.

“What the…” Suho’s voice trailed off as the woodland biome did the same, merging into a mountainous area. But in between the bumps and peaks were the ruins of a large village, almost a city. The rocks and ruins were a golden sandy colour that would glow beautifully in the evening sunset.

“Population… Zero?” Chen read the scratched sign.

“Cliché.” Baekhyun said, “I mean, this happens in pretty much every book I’ve read.” Baekhyun added as he noticed the confused looks.

The area looked completely deserted, almost like some sort of trap. Sehun’s eyes were wide, taking in the beautiful scenery that was something they had never seen before. He group were not the sort of people to adventure, liking the safety of the caste.

“Should we… continue?” Whispered Sehun.

“I really want to explore.” Baekhyun said, stepping over the makeshift line that been once drawn onto the gravel. It might have been chalk, but it surely would’ve been washed away with the rain. No one had ever seen Xiumin stop moving so fast.

“Yifan. We haven’t heard from him, or even heard OF him. He’s dead. Oh my god, he’s dead isn’t he.”

Xiumin had never panicked like this. It was something he had tried to hide, the pain of not knowing about his youngers. Chanyeol was quick to act, once again, being the one to reassure the eldest.

“If he had, we would’ve heard. Molaarg won’t do crap until we’re there. And then, we can fight him, and save Yifan.”

 

It was a struggle not stumbling whilst they walked, as every other slab or stone was loose. Chanyeol, being clumsier than a drunk cat, was holding onto Sehun, move helping each other to stay upright. For Kyungsoo, this was his perfect idea of heaven. He loved exploring unusual places, as he had searched and inspected every corner of where he seemed safe in the EXO realm. Was this village even in the realm of EXO?

The stones below their feet were ancient, worn and broken. No one in the group had ever seen anything like this before. The area around them wasn’t too different from the village they came from, mountains surrounding each side, the ruins on various heights of grounds like steps. When Baekhyun yelled a quick ‘HEY!’, it echoed around them, making him giggle in a childish way. The walls were crumbling away on every building, falling apart as Kai ran his slim fingers across them.

“Could we stay here tonight? I don’t want to move on.” Kai asked, talking to nobody.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

_“Baekhyun? I don’t… Don’t know if you can hear me… but please… Please help me.”_

Luhan had to use what was left of his telekinesis to talk to Baekhyun, it was the only person his mind could connect to. He didn’t want to connect with Xiumin or Sehun, the bond between him and anyone else too weak. It would use to much power to do so.

Currently, the prince of Telekinesis was in darkness. His hands were bound by strong chains against another metal surface, which he guessed was a wall. Like this, his wound was stretched slightly, causing pain to shoot like arrows through his body, little whimpers escaping his mouth. Luhan wasn’t sure if anyone, anything, was in the room with him. Even if there was, he couldn’t tell how many or what ranking they were. The monsters Molaarg owned were of different ranks, like an army. The highest were the ones that would hurt him and the other two.

Another whimper tumbled from his lips as the pain increased as he tried to move his wrists. They were bound above his head, tugging his torn shirt up with him. Thinking about this, Luhan knew exactly what was coming.

Molaarg, his monsters, were going to open his wound again. The injections and keeping them hostage were not enough for Molaarg, he just had to see them in pain. Despite this, Luhan was glad he was the only one. If not, he’d have to watch Tao or Yifan cry out as the weapons penetrated their skin and hurt them further. This was his idea of hell.

Well. Luhan knew what hell was like. So maybe not. Hell was another place completely, the people there only knowing pain and suffering.

_“Please Baekhyun.”_

“Send the troops to the village. Attack at full.” Molaarg ordered, his words echoed the castle and the room Luhan was currently being held in.

_“Baekhyun! Anyone! Run, run far, far away. They are coming!”_

Luhan’s mind screamed out for whoever could hear him. This would not be the end of them yet, it couldn’t.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Baekhyun’s hearing was subjected to a burst of sudden white noise, blocking his senses to anything happening around him. It hurt, but no words were spoken. If it was Luhan, this meant his power was too weak to connect with him.

How? Baekhyun wondered? Why? Why was it only Baekhyun that Luhan could speak to?

A roar.

Another one.

Another few.

Thousands of roars echoed the area, everyone turning to face the higher part of the abandoned village, thinking that was where it came from.

What they didn’t know was that Molaarg’s monsters and fighters had appeared just outside the village. They were ready to attack from any angle, as long as it was an attack. The group were still looking around them, scared, confused and angry. A mixture of emotions created one emotions of wanting to fight. But the monsters wanted one thing, aside from the powers EXO held within them and their knowledge of the world.

Molaarg and his monsters wanted blood.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

The roars grew louder as the monsters grew closer, from most directions. Each of their feet were stuck to the ground with the growing fear that was rising inside of them. It was a harsh reality to realise how close they must be to the castle.

“We have to split up. It the only way we can seriously do this.” Suho said.

Everyone turned to face him with a dumbstruck expression, like it was the silliest idea they had ever heard. But at the same time, they had to do this. Kyungsoo grabbed Kai, taking his hand, both running to the left of the group, towards what looked like a hall, without one of its walls. Xiumin and Chanyeol followed them, splitting off just after where Kyungsoo and Kai were stationed.

When the monsters finally reached them, it really hit them that they were going to fight. Yixing had taken the sword, making everyone aware that they did have weapons, but they were not going to help this time. Kai had been thrown the sceptre before Baekhyun ran past and left, on his own. Suho and Yixing had gone down, closer to where the monsters were entering the abandoned village. Sehun and Chen stayed where they were, both comforting each other. Plus, their powers both resembled weather, making it easier to combine the two.

That’s when the fight commenced.

Because of where they were, Yixing and Suho were the first to get hit. The monsters were like dogs, sprinting on four legs towards them, growling and drooling as they went. They bared sharp, dagger like teeth as they slowed to a stop. It was clear that these animals were strong, and were not something that nature created, as Yixing felt the devilish aura they gave off. Their skin was a mixture of reds and oranges, like fire. They were not afraid of the princes. Perhaps they didn’t know of their powers? It made Suho snigger a little. Maybe they were that dumb and really didn’t know the strength of EXO’s princes.

Yixing carved through the air with the sword, a line of dark, angry flames following. The monsters made no move to prove they were scared.

Alright, so they were not afraid.

**“Children shouldn’t play with swords.”**

Molaarg used his powers again to speak to Yixing through his mind, also connecting with Suho so the leader could hear what was being said. This time, Yixing was prepared, so it didn’t hurt like it had done before, that time in the forest.

“Who said I was playing?”

Yixing advanced forward, sword tight in his hands and held out by shoulder. The monster in front of him had no time to consider moving, as Yixing lashed at it’s neck, spraying him with blood that was tinted the colour blue. The sword was sharp, as it slit through its collar without any tension or blocking. Yixing receded back, waiting for the next attack.

However, much it pained Yixing, he had to fight. He hated hurting people, it was opposite of the power he was given. He was supposed to heal and protect, not wound and fight.

Suho was quick to act, the water in his hand growing hotter and hotter until boiling in his palm. The steam was hurting his eyes, but moreover, it was injuring the creature below. He pushed his hand further into the monster’s stomach, burning its apparently soft scales. Suho was beginning to kill it with steam. The creature was howling in pain, but that didn’t stop Suho.

It felt sadistic, but to take and hurt their family, Suho no longer cared. As the monster began to stop moving, the leader of EXO hauled it’s mouth open, avoiding the sharp teeth as he poured water from his hand into its mouth, drowning it.

“SUHO!”

Suho dodged to his left, as another monster launched itself at him, narrowly missing as the prince evaded the attack. Yixing, however, was waiting on behind Suho, the monster impaling itself onto the sword.

 

Kai was frozen. All he could hear was the crumbling of walls, various yells from his other members and the roars and growls that surrounded him. All he could do was teleport around. His hands were moist with sweat, the grip on the sceptre slipping. There was no way he could fight and still stay sane. A monster was quickly advancing on the currently station prince, knowing this was its chance of at least killing one of them.

But Kyungsoo never gave it the chance to step close.

His foot met the ground with a force that caused the earth to shudder, knocking the ones surrounding them to fall, giving Kyungsoo enough time to get to Kai. Grabbing the younger, he ran with him, alerting Xiumin and Chanyeol to protect them for a while. Kai couldn’t breath without gasping, his lungs painful as they tried to force more air into his body.

“Do you hear my heartbeat? Focus on that.”

Kyungsoo and Kai were now hiding behind the broken wall of the hall, where on the other side, stood Chanyeol and Xiumin, doing their best to fight the monsters. Kai’s body was pressed against Kyungsoo to calm himself down. The noise and the fighting had brought panic in the younger, Kyungsoo wanted to protect him until it was over.

The noise grew even louder as Chanyeol cried out, the cackle of flames taking over something, hopefully another monsters body. Kyungsoo’s hands were messing tangled in Kai’s dirty hair, calming the child down. The sceptre had been given to Baekhyun somehow, who would pass it onto Sehun the next moment he had.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

A sharp, pain lashed across Luhan’s chest, making him yell out. Uncontrollable tears spilled from his eyes. Whatever was doing this to him stopped for a moment, before continuing to pelt him with something. Luhan was in too much pain to process what the hell it was being thwacked against his skin violently.

**“Look at your body. So beautifully destroyed.”**

Luhan wanted to retch at the words, the bile in his stomach rising to his throat until he swallowed it down, leaving a trail of a burning feeling behind. Why? Why did that have such an obsession with him?

But thinking back, everyone did. Even the villagers and the travellers. His doe eyes and feminine looks stunned people, everyone having to ask of his gender.

However, this was different. Another sudden force was wrapped around his neck, constricting his breathing. Thrashing his head from side to side, he tried to get it off, but it was no use. No longer able to tell if his eyes were open or closed, Luhan decided to let the darkness overtake him.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Kai shuddered violently in Kyungsoo’s arms, like the cold had shaken his bones. Between the gap of the two walls, Kyungsoo watched as a blast flung Chanyeol backwards, his body sliding against the stone before he got up, hands encased in flames that didn’t harm his hands. Kyungsoo winced as he watched the younger move forward and out of sight with a limp. Kai had his back the entire situation, unaware of what was going outside of his safe little bubble that was Kyungsoo’s arms.

Kai rarely got like this but, fighting and hurting people was never his intentions in life. He wished peace and love between people. Kyungsoo heard Xiumin scream, quickly moving to cover Kai’s ears. The next this he saw was Chanyeol carrying an unconscious Xiumin behind the wall, propping him against the wall and cupping the eldest’s face, hands sliding down his face until they dropped. Chanyeol, once again, went out to fight. Like the power he held, his fire never went out. He was ready for anything, and this just so happened to be one of those moments.

Baekhyun had just taken another monster out, deciding it was time to take the sceptre to Sehun, who was still fighting with Chen. He began to run towards the area, heart hammering with the intense movement he had been subjected to. His arm was scratched were a weaker monster had dug its claws into his skin and tore down his arm. Baekhyun had blinded it and used the sceptre to shatter its body in a mess of black magic that game from the orb. He passed Chanyeol, hitting another monster that was about to attack from behind with the sceptre. The prince didn’t notice the absence of Xiumin but knew about Kyungsoo and Kai.

As Baekhyun ran, blood was being sprayed all over Chen and Sehun, as they worked together to attack the creature, the electric from Chen flowing down the monster’s throat, using Sehun’s power to move it faster and faster until it’s body completely shattered with the lightening being passed through its body at an alarming rate.

“SEHUN!”

Baekhyun screamed, lunging as he threw the sceptre across the battlefield. Sehun caught it, passing it to Chen who used it immediately against the advancing creature to his right. Baekhyun blinded another one, kicking it back so it rolled down the hillside and hit the wall violently, the jagged edges of the stone piercing its skin. In the end, it was too weak to move.

But nothing prepared Baekhyun for the next action. Another monster attacked from behind, pushing Baekhyun down to the floor with its weight. The prince of light grabbed its jaw tight, holding it away from his face to prevent him for getting bitten. Slowly, the prince was losing his strength, the monster’s claws sinking deeper and deeper into his stomach, creating lattice cuts across. Baekhyun couldn’t move his hands enough to create any light, so he began to give up.

Chen turned to face Baekhyun, expecting him to be stood there, only to find him on the floor with a monster on top of him, growling and scratching at him. Chen shot lightening across the area, stunning the monster so badly that its heart was electrocuted. Only then was Baekhyun able to get it off, hauling it off his own body so he could sit up.

Kai was still crying when Chanyeol came back, this time with Yixing.

“Suho has got Sehun and Chen with him. No more monsters have appeared, they are just inspecting the area.” Chanyeol said.

Yixing gently took Xiumin into his arms, the elders body limp. Kyungsoo didn’t want this to happen, he wanted his team to be safe, and now they were hurt. Soon after, Baekhyun and Suho arrived, Chen and Sehun joining after. Baekhyun had to lay down, Chanyeol helping him slightly as the cuts on his stomach grew more painful. Xiumin was still weak, but Yixing had healed him enough for him to wake up in a few minutes. Moving to Baekhyun, Yixing hovered over the younger.

“Don’t,” Baekhyun said, “Heal Chanyeol’s leg. Don’t worry about me. Just bandage me up or something.”

Yixing hesitated but knew Baekhyun must have a reason for these words, as he never said something without thinking, and the times he did were rare. Chanyeol had sprained something, unfortunately causing a bad limp. It was something Yixing could heal very easily. Suho took the time to wash away the blood and dirt on Baekhyun, frowning as the younger winced but didn’t make a sound.

 

EXO--EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Luhan, however, was making as much sound as humanly possible. Screams and cried tore through his sore throat, voice hoarse and weak. He only managed to calm down when he was left alone, the pain finally ceasing. He heard them leave but just moments later, he was being dragged back into the hall where they were being kept. Yifan yelled out, never in his life seeing Luhan in such a state. Stomach and chest almost ripped apart and bloodied, tears mixing with everything else that was on his face along with his pained expression.

All Luhan wanted was a hug. And he wasn’t going to get one for a while. When finally, alone with his two brothers, he broke, sobbing, telling them what they had done to him. Telling them how he screamed for Baekhyun.

Telling them he wanted a hug.

Luhan just wanted love.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Xiumin struggled to open his eyes, something dried was keeping them shut. He could hear many people talking, but no words made any sense.When he tried to raise his arm to wipe away whatever it was, his shoulder sent a wave of hot pain through him and he failed to stay silent, whimpers escaping. Someone was in front of him, kneeling. Xiumin felt a warm washcloth being gently wiped over his eyes. Once done, he fluttered his eyes open, still slightly blurred from whatever was dried over them. Chen was there, smiling brightly at the oldest member.

“You had blood over your eyes. Just a little cut from something.” The prince smiled, dabbing once again on the wound, clearing away the excess blood.

Looking over Chen’s shoulder towards Baekhyun, he saw the younger still led on the floor, Suho lying strips of gauze over the deep cuts on the prince’s stomach that would certainly cause some scars. Chanyeol was walking across the room ever so slowly, with the help of Yixing, as the elder had healed his sprain. He was stronger than he looked, the dull ache in his ankle wearing away.

“Baekhyun?” Suho cried the youngers name, worrying everyone.

The Prince of light seemed unconscious, the sudden pain he had been subjected to being too much. The gauzes that had just been placed on his stomach were almost immediately soaked in blood, Yixing debated whether to reapply them or not. Kai was fast asleep in Kyungsoo’s arms, finally calm enough to sleep. Now that Xiumin was able to see, him and Chen moved closer.

“Can you keep an eye on Baekhyun for me? Me and Kyungsoo need to look around.” Suho said.

Kai was slowly passed onto Xiumin, who smiled when the younger curled further into the warmth of the prince of frost. Was Xiumin really that warm? He didn’t really understand what had happened to him during the fight, but Xiumin was sure that Kai would get better, whatever happened.

Kai had a fragile heart, that would shatter like glass if broken.

 

Suho and Kyungsoo decided to not to take any weapons, leaving the others who were injured, the weapons. Yixing was still recovering, watching over Baekhyun like his own son. Suho almost slipped, Kyungsoo grabbing his arm just in time before he fell.

“Be careful, you don’t want to get hurt.”

The leader was thankful for the mother in Kyungsoo, the prince wanting to take care of the others in the world. Most people, at first, were scared of Kyungsoo, because his eyes were dark and features were strong, much like Yifan, in a way. They both had a mean demeanour and both were softies once you get to know them. Once again, a voice hurt their heads and both winced, Kyungsoo tightening his grip on the elders arm.

**“Find the serums, for me, for Yifan, for Tao.”**

“Luhan?” Suho whispered, looking up at the sky as Luhan was up there, and not somewhere closer.

“Come on, let’s find whatever the hell Luhan is on about.”

Kyungsoo was so intrigued by his surroundings, the history of the village almost a secret, nothing in the town showing any signs of what happened. It made him wonder if it was his fault, the few times he got angry and forced a earthquake to happen. Kyungsoo would always apologize profusely and help the villagers to rebuild anything that was broken, always and forever feeling awful afterwards, sometimes to the point of running away.

The first time Kyungsoo ran away after he accidently set of an earthquake, they found him crying hysterically in the forest, the nature around trying to soothe the pain, even if it wasn’t physical. Yifan was the only one seemingly brave enough to approach him, holding the others hand until he calmed down. Yifan ended up carrying him home, the smaller princes absolutely terrified of stepping foot on the ground and creating another earthquake. The next day, he wore himself down by helping people in the village, Kai being the one having to go down to bring him home.

Suho and Kyungsoo stumbled across a statue of what looked like a deer, one of its antlers broken. Underneath, words were carved into the almost carefully destroyed plaque. It was split perfectly down the middle, breaking one of the words apart, but it was still readable. Well, that was until Kyungsoo noticed it was in a completely another language that he wasn’t even going to try to understand.

“Maybe Yixing will understand it? Remember, he, Luhan, Tao and Yifan would talk what we thought was nonsense?”

Kyungsoo nodded at Suho’s words, but something glittered in his line of sight. Whatever it was, caught the sun in a beautiful way, the coloured material reflecting onto the ground. Kyungsoo took the time to step to his left, inspecting the item that was hidden by the statue

. It was a chest. The sides were lined with encrusted diamonds that shone in the sunlight. What looked like rubies were encircling the clasp on the oak wood chest. When Kyungsoo knelt next to it, he was open to another attack of smells. The smell that was mostly surrounding them was blood, a metallic smell that literally smelt like it tasted, but the chest smelt like the forest Kyungsoo loved so much.

His favourite smell had to be the grass after it had just rained, especially the leaves that had been soaked. Now, Yixing’s favourite scent was different. His was cookie dough, alongside chocolate chips whereas Baekhyun loved the smell of ash and fire.

Maybe that’s why he stuck to Chanyeol all the time

. Suho knelt beside the other, helping him to unclasp the case. Inside, held four cylinders, each one filled with a green liquid. Their eyes met and both moved away and inch or two. Above the cylinders, were, once again, four long and menacing needles. When the leader dipped his hand into the chest, his fingers came across a piece of paper, which he pulled about between two fingers.

“That’s…. Yifan’s handwriting…” Kyungsoo pointed out.

Suho couldn’t read it, his mind messing up the words to the point where he couldn’t pronounce them, passing the note to Kyungsoo. The prince of strength decided to pick up the chest and follow Suho back to the group.

Everyone was awake and looking alright when they got there, the mood soon to be destroyed by whatever was about to be read. They all sat in a circle, Baekhyun lying mostly on Chanyeol’s legs, Yixing still checking over the wound. Kyungsoo was the one to read out Yifan’s message.

_Dear EXO – I will not write out your names._

_I was born into the world knowing exactly what was wrong, knowing that one day, I’ll be taken away. If that day ever does come, I hope it never does, but if so, I’m glad to found these. Because Molaarg has an injection that weakens our powers. We still have them, but they do not regain as fast as usual. Please, if this ever happens, keep these serums with you until you find me, or us. This serum will destroy any of what that injection has done. There are four, please use them well._

_Yifan._

_P.S – If I am the only one taken, do not follow me to save me._

If Tao was with them, he would’ve teared up. Yifan telling them not to follow them if only him was taken was harsh. Yifan was… was something meaningful to all of them. Chen and Sehun viewed him as a father, much like Chanyeol saw him as an idol, someone the prince of fire wanted to become when he was older.

“This serum. Only three of them were taken.” Kyungsoo says.

“But if Molaarg uses the injection liquid on one of his weapons, it could save one of our lives.” Yixing replied.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Luhan was centimetres away from Tao, but he couldn’t do anything but plead. The youngest was in the same position Luhan was yesterday, bound by the wrists that were held high above of his head in a painful way that would surely cause rope burn. Luhan was being held back, the horrible arms of the monster tight around his torso, causing a dull ache to his wound as if it didn’t already hurt.

Tao wasn’t crying out or screaming, just somewhat emotionless throughout the process, although, small tears ran down his cheek when the weapon was repeatedly struck against it his skin. It registered quickly in Luhan’s mind what the hell they were doing. Haemorrhage. They were going to make him bleed as much as possible without breaking the skin.

With all the power he could muster, Luhan used his weak telekinesis to fling the monsters across the room, letting go of both him and Tao.

A sudden adrenaline rush caused Luhan to sprint forward, ignoring the pain in his side. Breaking the rope violently, Tao’s wrists were released from the bound. Both their hands immediately went to the other persons face, cupping each others cheeks and swiping the hair away from their eyes. It was slightly frantic, but neither of them had had physical contact in years. Tao buried his face quickly into the crook of Luhan’s neck, the elders doing the same.

There was no time to exchange words, as just second later, Luhan was pulled away violently. The last thing he saw before passing out once more was the bright, happy smile that Tao had plastered on his face, so glad he finally got a hug from his Luhan.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

There was something in the air surrounding the remaining members of EXO, whether it was the fact they had a note from Yifan or whether they were just one step closer to them. Baekhyun was awake again, poking gently at the gauze strips.

“If you keep doing that I’ll have to cut off your fingers.” Suho says, taking his hand away.

Baekhyun couldn’t help but whine, struggling as he tried to roll onto his side into a more comfortable position to sleep in but his wounds were having none of it. Chanyeol had replaced Suho’s place and sat next to Baek, where he tried to comfort the elder. In the end, Baekhyun gave up trying to sleep, and asked if they could go on a late evening walk. Chanyeol was quick to grab his discarded cape, tying it onto Baekhyun to make sure he wasn’t going to be cold. He also grabbed the sceptre from next to Kyungsoo, aware that if he awoke the elder, he might attack him, thinking he was someone else.

Baekhyun felt happiness in the way the village was silent, a few birds circling above in the slowly dying sunlight. Chanyeol was surprised that Baekhyun even wanted to go outside. His long arms winded around the elders small waist, guiding him away from the loose stones.

“Where should we go?” Chanyeol asks, makings sure Baekhyun was okay ever second.

It was in his nature, to look after people, especially people smaller than him, which was mostly all of EXO. Baekhyun always seemed to get hurt, his body bruising incredibly easily.

“The top? I just want to see what we have to walk through next” Baekhyun replied, wincing at his wound.

“Do you want me to carry you or would it hurt more.”

“I’m not sure. You can carry me back once we get up there.”

So, together, Chanyeol and Baekhyun managed to get up to the very top of the hill, smiling once they reached the peak. They couldn’t see much further as a line of beautiful evergreen trees stood proud. Baekhyun sighed a little, not actually sure what he was expecting. No clouds were in the sky, the stars and moon so clear.

“That must be a constellation.” Baekhyun whispers, as they both moved to lie on the ground.

Three blinking stars stood in a perfect line. Chanyeol laughed, the noise bringing warmth to Baekhyun’s heart. ‘Must be’ was Chanyeol’s reply. When the prince of fire looked over, his breath was taken away by the sight. The moonlight was shining on Baekhyun, his eyes taking most of the glint.

“Should we go back?” Baekhyun asked, after around half and hour of lying and watching the various stars as they blinked or died out.

“Yeah, but just wait a second.”

Once both were stood, Chanyeol stopped Baekhyun from walking any further.

In the moonlight, Chanyeol leaned forward, tears pooling in his eyes. Baekhyun was slightly terrified, expecting a punch to the face or stomach. But instead of that, Chanyeol did something completely unexpected.

Chanyeol kissed him.

It was gentle and perfect. Baekhyun slid his arms around the taller’s neck, wrists crossing. Neither of them were sure if that moment was actually happening, or whether it was heaven on earth.

“Did that actually just happen?” Baekhyun whispered.

“Yes.”

Baekhyun couldn’t help but bury his face in the others shoulder, finding more warmth in him. Chanyeol leaned down, hooking his arms under the backs of the elder’s knees, picking him up a gently as possible, aware that he could hurt Baekhyun at any moment.

That night, Baekhyun slept like the dead, curling up against Chanyeol, a small smile on his lips within the grasp of sleep.


	16. Chapter Fifthteen

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Yifan wanted death. Not to himself, but to the monsters Molaarg had created, and the monster inside the so called ‘king’. What king thinks its normal to hurt people in such a sadistic way? Watching Luhan being dragged back in and thrown to the floor at Molaarg’s feet broke Yifan’s heart. He could only guess what the elder had done. Yifan covered his ears, not wanting to hear whatever the hell was going on below.

When Luhan was finally put into the cage, Yifan was able to talk to him. The younger had never ever seen Luhan so angry and upset. He hadn’t even seen Luhan in this much pain before, but the anger rising in him was overpowering the pain.

“They were trying to cause haemorrhage on him. Who does that? I flung the monsters across the room and I got to hug him.Yifan, I got to hold Tao. Why the hell…. Just why? Why are they hurting him?”

Luhan was rambling, feeling sick to the stomach, unable to talk without anger flowing into his voice violently.

“Calm down. Where’s Tao now?” Yifan asked across the room.

“He’ll be here soon. I hope.” Luhan said.

Luhan had to tell Yifan the entire story, almost terrified that Yifan would be jealous that they got to hold each other. But despite what Luhan was thinking, Yifan was glad they got to be close, happy in fact. The only thing that was making him upset was that they were the ones getting hurt. Not him. It was Yifan that Molaarg wanted, but he was torturing him emotionally, using physical torture on his friends as a weapon against the prince of flight.

The two could only tell it was night time by the way the monsters were no longer running around the room or guarding the cages anymore. Sure, if they had enough strength and power, they could escape during the darkness, but it was too risky. Yifan watched over Luhan, making sure he fell asleep with no pain. Now alone, Yifan finally let the tears loose.

Molaarg’s monsters wouldn’t bring Tao back now it was night, leaving him alone and probably terrified. Yifan threw his head back, hitting the bars with more force than he intended. There was no harm done, just a dull ache. The prince pulled his golden cape tighter around himself, carefully not to break the fabric. He took comfort in the hexagonal emblem stitched on the back, memories flooding back when he saw how each of their initials were also stitched on, his own initials bigger than the rest. It was like that on every cape, except the owner’s name was the one enlarged. His large, calloused hands began to grow cold, so he shoved them into his slightly ripped pockets, only to find a piece of paper carefully placed into his right pocket.

Pulling his hand out with the paper with it, he studied the paper which appeared to be a drawing.

A drawing of all twelve of EXO. Yifan had forgotten he had it after two years of being caged up. He took a quick swig of water from the metal flask that was in the other corner of the cage, something that was filled up every day.

The drawing was only of their shoulders upwards, because that’s all Tao could draw. He was impeccable at sketching people’s faces, something Yifan was awful at, and drawing in general. He remembered Tao doing one for each member, making sure everyone had one. Flipping it over, Yifan read the smudged handwriting on the back, alongside everyone’s signature.

_**We are one – EXO FOREVER** _

The second leader smiled, uselessly wiping a tear away, knowing there would be more as he tried to fall asleep. Tao had drawn Chanyeol with his long hair, which was soon cut off when he kept catching it in various things, namely the stupid hats he wore and flowers that were shoved into his hair by Xiumin. Yifan never once considered how or why some of them had different coloured hair. Chanyeol had red, Baekhyun had ash grey, Chen had a misty blue and Tao had a weird magenta slash pink colour. The others either had black or brown hair.

Yifan sighed, knowing there was no use trying to stay awake as his eyes grew heavy. He placed the picture deep into his pocket, afraid that if Molaarg saw it, he’d take it away. He slowly allowed his eyes to close and he slid down onto the floor, into a more comfortable position.

“Goodnight EXO.” Yifan whispered.

What he didn’t know, is that Luhan was connecting his mind to all of EXO, everyone hearing his last whisper.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Xiumin heard a chorus of goodnights in reply to Yifan’s voice, even though he couldn’t hear them. They were close, it was obvious, as the voices they could hear were much stronger than before, when they were in the castle. Xiumin looked to his left to find Chanyeol walking back in, Baekhyun fast asleep in his arms. The eldest prince helped him tuck the prince of light in under some thicker blankets, finally falling asleep after all that.

 

Morning came ever so quickly, but each member of EXO woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Baekhyun struggled to contain a whine the moment he opened his eyes, the gauzes on his stomach had come off, the blood staining his once white shirt. Baekhyun slowly peeled of his shirt, flinging it somewhere where it would be forgotten about. Yixing was the next to wake up, smiling when he saw Baekhyun, despite the fact the younger was shirtless and trying to pull of the gauzes strips.

“Come here Baek.”

Baekhyun flinched when he heard Yixing, but didn’t even consider ignoring him, stumbling over and sitting on his lap. Yixing hovered his hand over the cuts, a gentle green light emitting from his palm. The tingling sensation on his stomach made Baekhyun shiver and move closer as he instantly regretted taking off his shirt. When he looked down again, Baekhyun smiled as he saw the cuts had been healed, but there were still scars in the shape of claws.

Chen was always self-conscious of his scars, the lightening shapes on his palms. It made him deeply regret doing it to himself. But when he turned around to find Baekhyun stood next to him, on the roof of another ruined building, he giggled.

“We both have scars now.” Baekhyun said

. Both princes laughed loudly, despite the fact they had both gone through pain to get them. Despite that, Baekhyun was happy to have them, because it was a sign that, whatever the outcome of this entire mission, he at least tried to save them. Luhan had a scar, down over his left eye, from falling on a table. Just the memory made Suho cringe, remembering how he tried to lunge and grab him before it happened. But he missed. Luhan fell and caught his face on the side of the table. Sehun had to hold him tight whilst Suho and Yixing washed away the blood and healed the wound. He had been too stunned to cry, but Sehun was repeating ‘it was okay’ into his ear every five seconds.

Yifan also had a scar, right through his eyebrow, splitting it almost in half.

Suho rolled over, a warmth in his arms groaning and snuggling closer, the only person it could be being Sehun. The youngest member was always up for skin ship, a lot more now Luhan wasn’t around. It was the same with Kai, but he stayed close to Kyungsoo, almost as if to protect him.

Kyungsoo was searching through his bag when Baekhyun and Chen returned, throwing the new shirt at Baekhyun, who surprisingly caught it. It managed to shuffle it over his head, as his joints were still slightly seized up from the cold at night. Chanyeol was the last to wake up, Kyungsoo shaking him so he could eat.

“Should we continue?” Kai asked the others, taking a bite from an oatcake.

“We couldn’t see further than some large trees last night. So, we might as well wing it and go.” Baekhyun said.

“So that’s where you were.” Xiumin smiled at them, recalled the night before.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Luhan woke up to a surprise. The cages had been changed overnight. They were wielded together, bars still in-between so it was cut into three sections, but it was still together. Luhan was shocked that Molaarg would do something like this. He was bringing them so close together, yet so far apart. Luhan wondered how Yifan would feel, maybe like this was torture? The prince of telekinesis, if given the choice, would gladly swap places with Yifan, so he could be in the middle. So Yifan could at least be next to his boyfriend.

It was no secret with EXO that Yifan and Tao were dating, the two almost made for each other. Luhan would give up everything just to see the two together again. But no. He had to be in the middle, breaking the two apart.

“LuLu?” Tao’s voice was broken, words barely escaping his burning throat.

Luhan almost sobbed at his own nickname, stumbling towards the right side of the cage. Tao immediately grabbed Luhan’s wrist, the elder moving his slim fingers to curl around loose strands of his pinkish hair and his palm cups his cheek. It was like a repeat of yesterday, but they could endure it for a long as they wanted.

“Don’t you dare cry Huang ZiTao. I’ll end up joining you.”

“I’ve wanted to hug you for so long. Does your wound still hurt?” Tao whispered.

Luhan hitched up his shirt a little, showing the wound that still hadn’t healed. His chest probably looked the same. After this entire experience, all their bodies would probably littered with various scars. When Tao did the same, Luhan couldn’t help but gasp as he saw the X that had been branded into his skin. They had really burnt his skin? Now, Luhan’s hatred for the monster grew. Tao sniffled a little, holding Luhan’s hand tighter, if that were even possible. Luhan had to pull away, turning around to wake up Yifan, who was still fast asleep.

Yifan had never, ever in his life wanted to hug someone behind bars. His arms were so gently as they wrapped round Luhan, the pair of bars in between them pushing into their chests.

“I’m sorry. I wish I wasn’t in the middle. God, I’m sorry.” Luhan mustered up the words to whispered.

“Shut up. On the times you were gone, both of use wished we could hold you. Now we can.” Yifan said.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Baekhyun followed the group, who were following Chanyeol to where the stargazed the night before. He was paying to much attention to making sure nothing was following them, a monster of something. That didn’t end well in his favour because he ended up loosing them. Baekhyun just turned around and they weren’t there.

And that struck panic.

The first thing, the stupidest thing, he did was sent a beam of light into the sky, letting it explode in the sky that didn’t make too much sound.

“BAEKHYUN!” Suho yelled, making an appearance from behind the building directly in front of him.

“Why did you do that? If there are any monsters around they can now easily find us!” Yixing yelled.

Tears had already pooled in his eyes, feeling guilty and stupid, the two emotions mixing together to make one awful feeling. He moved his eyes away as he muttered a quick sorry, following them as they continued to walk. Baekhyun didn’t even bother trying to conceal them. He was also aware of the fact that Chanyeol was clearly avoiding him, saying nothing to him.

Xiumin had slinked back, walking slowly beside the younger prince. When he saw the escapee tear that ran down his cheek, Xiumin stopped and lifted Baekhyun’s chin with two fingers, their eyes meeting.

“What’s wrong?” Xiumin whispered.

Baekhyun couldn’t reply, he just continued to walk, looking straight ahead as if he hadn’t heard the eldest’s words.

“Baekhyun. What’s wrong?” He insisted, fully stopping him and baekhyun in their tracks. His hands instinctively moving to his face to wipe the tears away, Xiumin stopping him before his hurt his eyes. The elder takes his cape, what was made of a much softer material, dabbing at the tears.

“I didn’t mean to lose you guys. I panicked and used my powers. And Chanyeol keeps ignoring me.”

Xiumin sighed in response, walking a little in front of him and bending down.

“Hop on.” Xiumin said, thankful that neither of them were carrying bags on their backs.

And with that, Xiumin ended up carrying Baekhyun, running with him to catch up with the group.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

The further they stepped into the forest, the darker it got. Old black wood trees loomed overhead making quite a mysterious aura around the group. Baekhyun pointed from Xiumin’s back, at what looked to be a burnt fern. Nothing else in the surrounding area was like that, everything else still alive. Yixing had knelt to heal it, but his power was wasted, as nothing happened. Although it was burnt, Yixing was still thinking about how beautiful it was.

“It’s been burnt by fire.” Chanyeol chides in, the leaf in his hand crumbling beneath his fingers. He had done this before, many a time, with various flowers.

The very first time Chanyeol burnt a flower, he burst into tears, running through the castle to find Yixing. He burst into the library where Baekhyun, Yixing, Suho and Kyungsoo were sat. It was a saddening sight, watching as Chanyeol, who was in hysterics, trying to give a burnt and crumbling flower to Yixing to try and heal. Yixing did attempt, but there was no use, only fuelling Chanyeol’s tears. The next day, Yixing appeared with a set of five beautiful red roses and two pink ones, the pink pair the hardest to find. Chanyeol couldn’t hold them, terrified.

“Don’t worry,” Yixing had said, “They wont burn and wont die.”

Chanyeol still has them in the vase next to his bed, the vase literally glued to the side table by Kyungsoo, making sure that the prince of fire couldn’t knock it off. To this day, Chanyeol loves flowers, but will not touch them. Everyone in the group seemed to share the same love for roses, Xiumin trying and mostly failing to learn how to draw them.

The fear embedded into each of them was slowly growing, as if they knew what was up ahead. Everything in front of their eyes seemed to be merging into something horrible, something that Kai had seen before.

“Hey, Look!” Kyungsoo said, everybody turning to face him.

Kai stumbled back, terrified. In his hands, stood a red rose. Suho was yelling at him already, telling him to drop it as the thorns were going to hurt him, which they wouldn’t, because his hands were calloused from the fight before. When Kai turned round, Kyungsoo was stood there, holding a red rose which stood out from his completely white outfit. He gripped it close to his heart, like it was his saving grace.

It was a repeat of his daydream the day or two before.

“Please put that down.” Kai whispered, voice breaking at the end. He could feel his knees buckling under his weight, thankful that there were people around him to catch him.

Suddenly, his body began to flicker, one moment his body was there, the next it wasn’t. Whatever was happening, it was bad. Kai focused his mind on someone’s aura, the only one coming to mind being Chen. Somehow, it was enough to get him to stay where he was, in the arms of Suho and Chen once more. Words tumbled out of his mouth as he recalled the day dream he had had to the others, telling them that it was real, and that Kyungsoo holding a red rose was happening. It really was coming to life.

When Kai felt better, he linked arms with Kyungsoo and they continued to walk. Sehun was beginning to grow restless, trying to get someones attention, which wasn’t working. The youngest seemed to have to much energy. He ended up running ahead, the wind whipping around his head almost comforting him. He loved the wind, the only time he hated it was when Luhan left, and it was all he could hear in the night.

Sehun stopped dead in his tracks. His feet brought his body back, recoiling back from the sight in front of him.

The forest stopped, once again like it had been drawn on a straight edge. In the distance, a castle stood, dark and menacing, even from this distance. The sky was red, something Sehun had never seen before. The entire ground leading in every direction as far as the horizon and beyond was covered in black roses, sharp and thorny. Maybe that’s why Sehun noticed so many as he ran.

They all looked burnt, every single one of the flowers in his eyesight. Glancing down, Sehun stared at the line between the green grass and the completely black floor. When Sehun fully stepped over it, his clothes turned white as snow, except his cape, which remained blue. When he took one of the flowers into his hands, it didn’t crumble apart, so it was clearly nature or magic that made the colour of these flowers.

When the others reached him, they were terrified.

“Wait! Don’t cross the line yet!” Sehun yelled, but it was too late for Baekhyun. His clothes magically transformed, but he stayed straight faced, like this had happened before.

“I guess our mission is nearing it’s end.”

“I somehow don’t want it to end. I don’t want to see them hurt.” Kai mumbled as he and Kyungsoo stepped over.

Chanyeol was the last, Baekhyun holding out his hand for him to take. Xiumin watched out of the corner of his eye, smiling to himself when Chanyeol took it, stepping over as Baekhyun ran the pad of his thumb over the back of his hand. Xiumin was glad they were slowly getting over the tension that was thick between them.

“Who’s got the sword?” Suho asked, Yixing replying by waving the sword in the air, completely forgetting the aftereffect of doing so. The sceptre just so happened to slip from Chen’s hands at the very moment, falling in-between the roses. He knew it was going to hurt, but he ducked down and shoved his hands through the thorns to get the sceptre again. Hissing, he returned to his normal height and shook his hands, surprised he didn’t gather any cuts.

A crack of thunder was heard overhead, and everyone flinched. Everyone except Chen, who was somewhat used to the sound. Suho had clutched onto Sehun immediately, apologizing quickly afterwards. Chen flicked his fingers towards the endless amount of open space, a bolt of lightening hitting ground, sending Chen flying back, body getting flung into the roses. The power that was surrounding him was clearly too strong for him to even try to control

“Run.” He struggled to say.

“What?” Sehun cried, hearing the words.

“RUN!” Chen yelled, pushing himself up and pulling Suho along, the others following behind quickly.

There was no end to the lightening, the bolts of electricity striking all around them. Chen was at the back of the group, protecting the entire group with the best of his ability. Soon enough, it was too much and the prince of lightening stopped, willing the rest to keep going. Yixing was trying to refuse, but Chen was insistent, pushing him away with a soft smile. He watched as they continue to run away.

But before Chen couldn’t even attempt to halt the storm, he collapsed.

His body convulsed violently as the lightening struck his body, forcing him onto the ground. After that, no more bolts hit anywhere. His skin was burning, like the area around him was on fire. The thorns from the flowers both around and underneath him were piercing his burning skin. The feeling was piking off in various directions across his body, rendering his movement useless. Even as he tried to move, the pain was too much for him to handle. This was the first time he had ever gotten hit by t his own power, yet he was somehow expecting it to happen one day, just not today. Where he was led, Chen watched as the dark clouds moved swiftly across the sky, even with the colour red as the skies colour. His mouth was too dry to try and speak, so he stayed silent, hoping with what was left inside for someone to come and get him.

“Stop. The storms ended now.” Yixing said, the others stopping beside him.

Xiumin was the first to turn, almost crying out when he noticed nobody stood in the distance. It took no time at all for the oldest member to begin sprinted back, not giving a care to the world about the roses and thorns that were attacking his feet.

There, led on a patch of roses, was Chen, his entire body covered in Lichtenberg figure, scars from lightening covering his the areas of skin that were visible, the other patches that were covered must be the same. Xiumin fell to his knees, hands cupping either side of the youngers face, using his gentle frost to cool down his body, without freezing it entirely. Chen’s eyes were closed, his hand tightening around Xiumin’s, a sign he was still alive. Xiumin sighed in thankful relief, despite the tears that were threatening to fall. The elder had seen Lichtenberg scars on other people, and he knew they were unhealable, but hopefully, Yixing could at least make him strong enough to walk.

Xiumin lifted Chen up, close to his chest in a bridal style way. Both the princes were glad to have each others presence. He carried him back to the others, who were terrified of what happened. Xiumin’s hands were still freezing cold, numbing the youngers skin so the burns couldn’t hurt him anymore. Chen could feel how each one trailed down his body and broke off into directions, exactly like his power did. He knew it would happen one day.

“Those are…” Baekhyun’s voice trails off as his fingers gently trail over a particularly painful looking scar.

“Lichtenberg scars.” Yixing finished off, still healing Chen back to health. He was unable to reverse the lightening scars, but he took away the remaining pain.

“Hey, now we definitely both have scars.” Chen says to Baekhyun, both boys giggling softly.

 

EXO--EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

In the castle, that was only a few miles away, Yifan was being taken away for the first time in a while. His first thought was dead fear, terrified he at what was about to happen, his second thought was thankful that it wasn’t either of the other two. To get him out of the cage, they had to lower the entire thing, as it was now one huge cage.

Yifan was hauled out, the sudden movement hurting his joints in a way he never imagined before. The monsters were much more frightening up close, making Yifan, someone who was a cold guy, shiver with fear. Luhan was quick to tell him it was going to be alright, a blatant lie but he was going to at least try and make him feel better. Tao held Luhan’s hand tight, wanting reassurance that Yifan was going to be okay, which Luhan stayed quiet, ignoring the question as the cage was hoisted back into the air. In his mind, Luhan was thinking that he was probably thin enough to squeeze inbetween the bars, but he wasn’t going to try, the wound on his hip still sweating and producing puss.

Yifan was shoved into a room that was unfamiliar to him, red paint like the rest of the castle. From what Yifan knew, the castle was full of mazes and riddles that he only prayed EXO could answer. They were smarter than Molaarg knew, and they would kill him.

The room had a window, finally some natural light seeping though. Once he heard the door was locked, he stumbled towards it, thankful for his height for once in his short life. The outside world was awful, despite the fact all he could see was Molaarg’s Realm. Yifan took comfort in watched the clouds pass overhead, what was almost unrecognisable as a smile on his face. Yifan let the monsters hurt him. He let them take advantage of his body. He let them scar his otherwise perfect skin, knowing this entire situation was his fault. He would take the blame any day, any night.

“Don’t take any blame Yifan. No one is at fault here.” Luhan whispered before lying down himself, wincing at the pang of pain through his hip. Tao’s fingers were interlaced with his, both now led on the metal flooring of the cage. The younger was facing Luhan as he played with the elder’s fingers, something Baekhyun used to do with everyone. Tao must’ve learnt the calm essence behind playing with someones fingers, holding them tight within their own hands.

Yifan had been gone for a long time now, and the room grew dark. Luhan whispered a soft goodnight, keeping his hand intact with Tao’s.

The next few days were not going to be easy for either EXO or the three inside the castle, but they were going to make it.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your love and comments! They made me really happy reading them!


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Xiumin lowered Chen onto the ground, where Kyungsoo had created a clearing by levelling the ground using his power. His body was clearly weak, that much even the dumbest person could tell. His eyes were lightly closes, flickering open every now and then to look at Xiumin. They needed to rest before getting to the castle, if it was the correct one anyway. Chanyeol had lit a controlled fire, that wouldn’t create smoke and alert anything of their presence.

“This is stupidly dangerous.” Yixing had said, staring up at the night sky. Somehow, despite how monstrous and awful the entire realm of Molaarg seemed, the stars still shone down on the kingdom, even with the red tinted sky.

Baekhyun couldn’t understand how Chen wasn’t in a worse condition, as his entire body now looked like his hands. He had taken the younger princes right arms and curled around it, making sure he didn’t hurt the limb. Chen didn’t exactly mind, as long as it made him calmer. Xiumin was still cooling his skin that was burnt on Chen’s chest, his hands not getting effected by the chill. Chen loved the sight of Xiumin’s hands when they were frosted over. They were covered in snowflakes that looked like someone had drawn them. Chen was glad the pain was finally beginning to ebb away. He sighed, knowing that this was always going to happen to him

“If anything attacks I think I can hold them off.” Kyungsoo said, Chanyeol quick to join him on an agreement.

“I’m sure I can do my phoenix at some point.” Chanyeol replied, not really thinking about what he was saying.

“No! You can’t!” Cried Baekhyun, who was now sat up.

He was right. Chanyeol couldn’t use his special phoenix power. It was too strong for him and would cause more harm. The fire would create a shape in the form of a phoenix bird that Chanyeol could control to an extent. The only time Chanyeol ever used this was around a year before Molaarg attack. EXO were messing around in a large clearing in the forest. It was winter, so snow layered the ground like a white blanket, and Chanyeol was the only one wearing a coat and a scarf. He had felt a little weird the entire day, and wasn’t expecting anything from it, so when Sehun screamed at him, telling Chanyeol that something was on fire behind him, he found himself unable to move. When he did, the phoenix that Sehun had pointed to, shot forward and Tao barely dodged the attack.

When Chanyeol finally gave up trying to calm it down, the phoenix flew straight at him, dispersing itself back into Chanyeol’s body. He could only groan before falling into the snow. Everything was painful, since the phoenix had used up so much power for it only to be wasted. Since Baekhyun was a little weaker back then, Yifan was the only one who could lift Chanyeol up, letting him fall against his shoulder as the younger was exhausted.

When they worked out what had happened, they knew that Chanyeol had to learn how to control that phoenix because that power could kill thousands in just seconds. With that information inprinted on his mind, it took a few weeks for Baekhyun to convince the younger to go outside, even if it was just to the end of the Castle walls and back. That was how Chanyeol found comfort in reading underneath the cherry blossoms. Despite what they knew, nobody ever helped Chanyeol learn to control the power, the red head flinching away from anyone who suggested the idea.

Baekhyun was right. He couldn’t do that, not this close to finishing their mission and having someone as strong as Chanyeol down, they wouldn’t be able to succeed.

“I want to do it in the end. I want to use the phoenix when it comes to killing Molaarg.” Chanyeol said, the monsters name sounding like poision to all of them.

“But what if you cant move afterwards.” Suho said, chucking a blanket at Kyungsoo who took it and laid it over Kai, who had fallen asleep quite by accident.

“Then I can’t move. I don’t care what happens to me as long as I’m alive and Yifan, Tao and Luhan escape.”

Baekhyun’s heart went out to Chanyeol once again, knowing how much he wanted to protect everyone in this group. As everyone began to curl up and fall asleep, Baekhyun cross the area and hopped over the dying fire, reaching Chanyeol without waking anybody else up, which was his objective. With a gentle hum, Baekhyun nudged the younger arm and smiled in achievement when he ended up tucked under his arm and buried in his chest, falling asleep with a smile present on his cracked lips. Hopefully, the night wouldn’t bring any cold. Wait.

Was it even night time? Or were they just sleeping for the sake of sleeping? For all they knew, the next couple of days could mean no sleep. Jongin was already preparing to teleport the twelve of them home, even if it meant being weak for a while afterwards.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXo

 

Yifan’s body was beginning to scar, the welts and burns that had been forced upon his body. There was no point in his trying to recognize the weapons, as they changed every minute, every hour, causing various levels of pain. If Luhan were here, he wondered if he would try and stop them like he had done with Tao, but was truly unsure of what was going on around him. Yifan was someone who enjoyed isolaction, perhaps not anymore after this whole experience. He was someone who could stay away from people for quite a while and not feel any different, different from Tao or Xiumin who always needed to be with someone or near someone to feel comfortable.

Tao woke up to silence, another thing he had gotten used to. Back in the castle, he used to wake up to either Sehun or Jongin yelling and or climbing on him. The best parts of the mornings were racing each other down to the kitchen, slipping and sliding in their socks to get there before the other. Jongin usually won, but Tao was close behind.

Luhan was still sound asleep beside him, making him aware of the absence of Yifan. The younger wondered what the monsters were doing to him and if the punishments were going to get worse as the remaining members of EXO got closer to saving them. Tao subconsciously shoved his ring finger into his mouth, nibbling weirdly on the skin. His tongue was used to the slightly metallic taste blood had so he wasn’t really aware they were bleeding. Because of whatever Molaarg injected into them caused the blood to have streaks of black magic.

The blood on his fingers was just a scarlet red. No traces of black whatsoever.

Could this mean the magic was wearing off?

But Luhan’s hips still had black all over it, so it couldn’t be. There was no way it would wear off on just one of the three, as they were mostly injected at the same time. Panic struck Tao and he grabbed Luhan’s hands, but he couldn’t bring himself to awaken the elder. Tao almost dug his fingers into his own scars, wanting to make himself bleed just to check this theory. The X branded on his side makes him feel sick, but there was nothing he could even do about it.

At the time, Molaarg was preparing the various puzzles and mazes throughout the castle. He could feel the powers and aura in the air that came from EXO, knowing that they were growing closer. In his mind, they were children, unable to fight him and his minions. Once they were all captured, he could take their powers and recoil back to the underworld. He would take Luhan and baekhyun with him, the demons that belonged in hell. He wasn’t going to send his minions out to find them, as Molaarg was getting excited about the battle yet to come. Yifan had made the puzzle that Chanyeol would have to solve, the

younger making it easy for Chanyeol to answer without Molaarg knowing. Taking Baekhyun and Luhan back to hell would be the hardest task, taking the route through the gates of Nijama. Nijama was the city of the underworld gods, people that Luhan remembered perfectly. Baekhyun was portrayed to be an angel, the personification of light itself, but he was a demon at heart and would know it soon enough.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Chanyeol had been awake for around ten minutes now, staying still as the boy curled up next to him was sleeping soundly. Baekhyun seemed to nuzzle closer, mumbling something unintelligible. When he did wake up, Chanyeol was forced to hold him close, as there was something obviously bothering him.

“My powers being used. It just feels like it.” He whispers, aware that the others were still resting.

“Can you make anything happen?” Chanyeol replies, watching as a galaxy of stars made of light particles appear all over Baekhyun’s hand. The younger presses his hand on Baekhyun’s forehead, expecting there to be some heat, as if he had a fever, but he felt nothing different from the days before. Chanyeol simply smiles, sending a blush rising in Baekhyun’s cheeks.

“If we get split up in that castle, can I stay with you?”

Chanyeol can’t help but nod against Baekhyun’s hair, the elder stifling a giggle as it tickles. Kai is the next to wake up, leaning on Baekhyun as he rubs his eyes like a tired child. Kai moves away to hug Kyungsoo, who was just waking up. Soon enough, everyone’s awake, the group randomly talking about things on their mind. Kyungsoo’s whispering something into Kai’s ear, making him smile, a smile so bright it could light up the entire kingdom. The elder bumps their heads together, Kai mumbling something against the others lips that neither Suho or Yixing can work out. Another rumble of thunder sounded overhead and Chen flinched violently, trying to shuffle closer to Xiumin, who was literally next to him and couldn’t get any closer.

“Let’s get moving, we should get to that castle over there today. This morning.” Kyungsoo says, everyone nodding in agreement.

 

Once again, they were walking through the field of roses, sharp thorns digging into their legs again. Despite what the thunder sounded like, no storm arose, and the realm of Molaarg was somewhat calm. Chen kept his hand interlaced with Xiumin’s, who was still holding onto it tight, aware of the youngers terrifying thoughts. The leader of the group, Suho, was keeping his eye on Sehun, who was reading over the swords plaque, trying to figure out what the riddle meant. His brain racked everything he knew, whether it was something he read or had been told, but nothing came to mind.

“I will only open one thing. I cut through metal and that will lead you to your destiny. Keep me until then. I will open the castle of the damned.” He repeated, everyone looking at him as they walked.

“Someone put those weapons there, knowing that one of us would find them. We need to use this to cut through the castle doors.” Sehun says, confident that his plan would work, Kyungsoo confirming his theory when they reached the castle.

It was much bigger than theirs, if that were possible. The black metal surrounded the building, creating a menacing look, almost like a dungeon. There were no windows or holes that could be used as one, just metal. Baekhyun wondered how you could stay sane in a place like this. Maybe they were insane? Could Yixing fix something like that? Suddenly, Sehun ran at the door, sword in hand. Everyone watched as the sword burned the metal, burning more and more of it as Sehun created an entrance to the castle. There were no roars or sounds that signalled that they were in danger.

They were in the castle of the damned.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

The nine-stand side by side, waiting for something to greet them, but nothing comes. Instead, five hallways stand in front of them, each turning a different direction. The hall where they stand is covered in a red, crimson rug that reached from corner to corner, the black curtain like fabric that hung-over painting meeting the floor. The paintings don’t show anything, just images that would fit the exact descriptions of Luhan’s nightmares. Little did they know, they were not nightmares. Each of the hallways are decorated differently, the one in the middle looking as if a child thought it up. Sehun is immediately intrigued but the various colour choices and wonders if Molaarg thought these up himself. If so, why was the rest of his realm so dark and hurtful.

“There are five. We should split up.” Suho says.

“What if we end up in separate places?” Sehun practically yells, a hand flying over his mouth as the words almost bounce of the walls.

“We won’t. This is like this for a reason. Suho, you go with Sehun. I’ll go on my own.” Yixing says, watching as Kyungsoo and kai move forward to one of the hallways, Chanyeol and Baekhyun going to the far right one. Xiumin and Chen go in between the aforementioned pairs.

“No Yixing please come with us!” Suho cries, not wanted Yixing to go one his own, even if he was carrying the sword that they probably wouldn’t need. Kai was given the sceptre, holding it in a strap that Kyungsoo had helped make earlier that morning, so he had both his hands free if needed, and the weapon was easily available.

Yixing steps forward, pressing a kiss onto Suho’s lips to shut him up and reassure him, both at the same time.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

As they stand, Baekhyun looks down the line, meeting eyes with each member. Sehun’s grip tightens on Suho’s arm before looking back at Yixing, who nods and smiles.

“We are one, Fighting!” He yells, each pairing running down the halls.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO--EXO

 

Yifan is being hauled into the hall when Luhan wakes up, Tao already watching as they manhandle the elder. Tao tries not to look at the awful scar now on his lower back, probably continuing up his back in a line. He tried not to thing of how many other marks would be covering his body in the various places he couldn’t see.

**“They are in the castle.”**

The three stopped. Molaarg continued to speak about his plans for today and that he wanted the monsters to go back to their quarters, telling them he didn’t need them anymore, or at least for today. Tao and Luhan looked at each other as they waited for Yifan to be pushed into his section of the cage so they could talk to him.

“They’ll succeed right?” Tao asks, looking down at his fingers that had finally stopped bleeding.

“Of course. It’s EXO.” Yifan replies, making his younger boyfriend smile. Luhan stays led down, afraid that if he moved, the pain would just be subjected to another part of his body, and he was currently in a peaceful state or happiness. He wondered for a few minuets whether Sehun would have changed, his hair or height. He was always taller than everyone, much like Chanyeol and Yifan.

“What if they’re hurt? The attack on the village. What if one of them is dead?” Tao whispers.

Luhan reaches out, blinding taking one of Tao hands.

“I bet their fine. Maybe a few scratches here and there. Nothing like us.” Luhan mumbles the last sentence, breathing out shakily as moving his arm had sent a twinge of pain through body.

“What did they do to you?” Luhan asks slowly, moving his head to look at Yifan.

“What they did to Tao and you I think. They tried haemorrhage, but they broke the skin.” He whispers, digging his fingers deep into his pockets.

When he feels the paper in his fingers, he pulls it out, sliding it to Luhan in the hopes that it didn’t fly out of reach, but Luhan catches it, taking it closer to his face. A soft giggle escapes as he read over the twelve signatures, and the drawing of himself.

“Was this when you could actually draw?” Luhan asks, passing the paper to Tao, who bursts into infectious laughter, trying to cover his mouth.

“Chanyeol spelt his name wrong!”

“How on earth?” Yifan laughs, the feeling of laughter passing through his body like a drug.

“Keep this, we have to show Chanyeol and embarrass him.” Tao giggles whilst Luhan passes the paper back to the owner, using telekinesis to get it there safely.

Despite what they were talking about, Luhan couldn’t get the different variations of Sehun out of his head, whether he had grown taller or more manlier. Luhan hoped he didn’t change too much. He hoped he was exactly the same as two years ago, laughing at almost everything. Luhan hadn’t changed too much, but he knew, as well as himself, the other two would be afraid even if someone raised their fist, of getting hit. He was beginning to hate this. No -scrap that- he hated this from the beginning. Every single time Yifan said anything about it all being his fault Luhan would immediately object, saying it was no ones fault.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Yixing continued his way down the seemingly never ending hallway that was lined with paintings that depicted dark images. Not one showed any existence of flowers, grass or even sunlight, making Yixing wonder if Molaarg even knew such a thing existed. His footsteps echoes around him, and every time he stopped he was met with silence, hearing no other sounds from the other pairs. Being alone for the first time in a couple of days was a feeling he wasn’t used to. The silence was almost deafening to him, and he just wanted someone to be there with him, yelling nonsense at him. Instead, he was trapped with his own thoughts of the different endings this mission could possibly have. In his head, he was repeating like a mantra that no one was going to get hurt, and that everything would go to plan.

Sighing heavily, Yixing continues, not stopping until he reaches what looks like a series of chambers, each filled with dead or dying flowers. Words were scratched into the wall and Yixing was confused as to why they were so neat. Wait. These words were in the language only he knew. A burst of horrible feeling surged through him, hoping to god that the other hallways were not in this language, otherwise they would not be able to continue.

“One of these flowers do not need healing, but the rest may. Work out which one and you will be able to pass.”

Yixing reads it to himself quietly, swearing under his breath.

“I can use the health bar.” He mumbles.

Using this power, Yixing can see a health bar over each of the flowers, each one a different number. He runs along the chambers, noting each number in his head and remembering them. The last vase of flowers seems to be in perfect condition, the health bar agreeing with this. He runs back to where he started, healing each one and watching as the flowers bloom into a variation of red roses and salmon lilies. The sword on his hip was not leaving a fire trail behind it, luckily, as no one was properly holding it. Suho had made a hole for the sword to sit in on Yixing’s white trousers. He hears a scream and flinches, sprinting to the entrance to the chambers. The hallway was a long route back to the start, but it was clear he had to stay here, as the mission was to heal something, a power only Yixing held. God only knows where and who screamed.

When it came to the last two vases, Yixing stops. Holding the buds of the last flowers in his fingers, he notices that they are Luhan’s favourite flowers, daises. Many a time had they both made flower crowns and chased down the exo members to place one on their heads. Yifan and Kyungsoo were the hardest two to get to wear the crowns, Tao and Chanyeol leaning down to allow themselves to be crowned. Baekhyun would always be the last to wear one, as he went away and made his own daisy flower crowns for the two boys, giggling as he chucked them on their heads.

Despite this vase of flowers being the most alive ones of the group, Yixing heals them, taking a risk. If they were Luhan’s favourite, then they had to be the ones.

The paper looking door to exit the chambers broke, falling to the floor like a fabric blanket .

It was another hall, but this time, it was larger, like the first one. A grand entrance stood before him, huge golden doors that seemed to be brighter than everything else in the castle set underneath. Pillars held up the ceiling, carved into what looked like marble from a distant kingdom far away from here. He could hear someone yelling from inside. Pressing his ear against the door, Yixing heard laughter, and then words.

_“Yixing looks so young in your drawing Tao.”_

**Yifan.**

**Yixing can hear Yifan.**

Yixing bursts into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. He couldn’t even gather the strength to hold himself up. No one else is in the hall, but he can see four other paper like doors, knowing that they would be there soon. Yixing is so close to them but can’t go in without the others. His hands are clamped over his mouth as he slides to the floor beside the door, using one of the pillars as support.

But he can hear them. It just shows that Yifan really is alive. Yixing pulls the bag from his back and checks for the serums, counting one, two, three and four. The needles were still in their little box beneath. All Yixing wants is Suho to be there, holding him whilst they wait for the other pairs, yet he understand that Sehun would need him more.

Yixing is so close. But all he needs to do know is wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Yixing baby -  
> Plus, Chen is a dinosaur - He literally screams in the concert without a microphone and he's so loud.  
> He's a dino


	20. Chapter Nineteen

“We are one, EXO!”

Kyungsoo takes Kai’s hand and sprints down the hallway, ignoring the paintings on the sides of the hall. Kai struggled to keep up, despite how Kyungsoo was shorter than him and was probably a little slower than him if Kai were to sprint. Suddenly, the path changes, splitting off into left and right. The walls were made up of bookshelves that didn’t budge when Kai pulled at one. Every one of the books were named, some completely different to the one on the left, some a version or a volume, showing that the other volumes would have to be in the maze somewhere. Kai shivered a little, turning back to face Kyungsoo, who was also running his fingers over the spines of the books. Both ways seem to get darker as they went on, creating a menacing look. Almost as if something could be lurking in the shadows.

“We have to split up.” Kai says

“No.”

“Kyungsoo.” The younger whines.

“I’m not risking it.”

“Kyungsoo I can teleport to you. If anything happens I’ll be fine.”

“Can I trust you?”

Kai gives up, leaning down to capture the elder’s lips, pulling away enough to mumble a ‘yes’ against his lips. Kyungsoo smiles, heart shaped lips brushing against Kai’s again. Kyungsoo’s eyes are staring into Kai’s with a slightly scary aura, yet the younger can’t seem to look away.

“Promise me” He whispers.

Kai links their pinkie fingers like a child before pulling away. The look in both their eyes turn to that of fear and hope. As he walks, Kyungsoo watches as the younger takes the sceptre off his back and into his hands, watching him disappear behind the bookshelf walls. Sighing to himself, Kyungsoo turns and begins to walk left, slightly annoyed that he had to split up from the group and Kai. Despite whatever doubts he had, Kyungsoo knew that the younger wouldn’t hesitate to teleport to him.

He hoped.

Kyungsoo reaches a dead end almost immediately, turning back on himself to turn left at the second junction he had come to. From what he could see, this book lined hallways was long, no lights whatsoever In the place. Damn, Baekhyun would come in handy right now. His eyes were beginning to burn from all the squinting and staring at things to work out what they were. A few dull aches were littered around Kyungsoo’s hands where he had missed turnings and his hands had hit the corners. Despite being two different ends of a maze, both boys stop as a scream echoes around them, not from this room, but from another hallway.

“KYUNGSOO!” Kai yells, the elders name ripping through his throat, “WAS THAT YOU?”

“NO! YOU?”

“NO IM FINE!”

Kyungsoo sighs in relief, glad he had heard Kai. He picks up the pace and begins to run, footsteps loud against the marble tiles floor. Before the long hallway spikes off, there is a passage way to his left, and he decides to run down it, because why not? The books fly past as he moves, almost blending into one block of colour. Mainly a thick block of black as the darkness was almost chasing him.

“I have a bed, but I do not sleep. I run but get no exercise. What am I?”

Kyungsoo reads the words from the plaque quickly and swiftly. Without a second thought, he answers with “A River” and the plaque changes with magic that didn’t startle Kyungsoo in the slightest.

“Bookshelf 3. Third row, ninth book. Carry to the chamber.”

“I have to carry this bastard?” Kyungsoo asks himself after finding the green covered book. The leather cover is intact, nothing like the ones in their library back home. A burst of curiosity hits him, and he has to read what the subject of the book is, reading ‘Mythology’, but upon opening the book, he finds nothing at all, every page white like the last. He decided to crouch down and take of his backpack, using what little light there was to look through. There was nothing they would be needing in the next few days, so he left the bag exactly where it was, giving him a little more ease in running and or fighting. Returning to the main hallway, Kyungsoo reaches the end, and finds himself at an open space, with another hallway leading out, a paper like door at the end. Kyungsoo begins to think this is the chamber and waits for Kai patiently.

 

Kai is swearing under his breath profusely, every single turning he makes just seems to be a dead end. But he wasn’t going to give up and teleport to Kyungsoo, as there must be something in this maze. Just why did it have to be so dark? Kai was already beginning to develop a small headache from straining his eyes in the dark. He finally found the correct hallway, that didn’t end dead. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling the pain behind them growing steadily. His mind flickered back to Yixing, and wondered if his lone mission went alright. Another part of his mind was remembering what Sehun had said, praying that they all ended up in the same room. If they didn’t, this entire thing would go horribly wrong, as the castle seemed huge from the outside. Suddenly, he was faced with a glass wall, and through it, he saw Chanyeol and Baekhyun. They were both reading something. Banging on the glass, he raises their attention for a minute. They both run to the other side and smile at Kai, although he can’t hear what they’re saying. To Baekhyun, he flicks his hands up, trying to say, ‘give me light’ which seems to work. Now that Baekhyun’s hands are full of light, he can read the plaque that just so happens to be in front of him.

“What goes up, but never goes down.”

Kai couldn’t even begin to work this out. He looks at Chanyeol, who shrugs, the same with Baekhyun.

“I bet Kyungsoo would’ve got this first time.” He mumbles.

“The year?” He asks.

Nothing happens. Kai lets out a loud frustrated groan, wanting to hit his head against the bookshelf over and over again. There was literally nothing that came to mind for the answer. Kyungsoo was probably waiting for him as well. Tears of frustration pooled in his eyes, Kai trying to rapidly wipe them away. Chanyeol knocks the glass, pretending to wipe his own eyes and shaking a single finger, mouthing ‘don’t cry’.

“Kyungsoo! What goes up, but never goes down!” Kai shouts, immediately shutting up to hear the elders reply. It takes a minute or so. The boys on the other side of the wall can’t hear him.

“YOUR AGE!”

Kai repeats it, and watches as the plaque changes to a row number and a book number. He spins around to search the shelves. Finding it relatively quickly, he turns and faces Baekhyun, thanking him over and over before Baekhyun mouths a quick ‘go!’ and he sprints as fast as his legs will take him to find the next chamber, leaving the two behind. Unfortunately, he takes a few wrong turns before finding the correct one, the hall ending in what looked like a light. The light at the end of the tunnel. Kai turns a corner to find himself staring at Kyungsoo. The two run at each other, embracing the other in a tight hug. Kai messes his hands in the elder’s short red hair, getting his fingers tangled.

“Chanyeol and Baekhyun were there. They helped me a little, using Baek’s light.” Kai whispers.

“The were in the hallway?”

“No, behind some glass. It looked like a tile puzzle of sorts.”

“Were they okay?” Kyungsoo asks, still holding onto the younger’s hands like a lifeline.

“They looked it.” Kai replies.

“Come on, lets see what on earth we have to do.”

Kai turns to face the fabric looking wall, kicking it with the bottom of his foot with all his might. Nothing happens, it just shakes like a curtain being pulled across a window.

“Here?” Kyungsoo says, placing the book onto something that looked relatively like a pressure plate. The prince of earth takes Kai’s book and places beside his, and another wall across the room opens.

Inside, is a metal block. There are directions on the block.

But they’re in another language.

“I can only make out one word, and that’s ‘prince’” Kai whispers, resting his head against the cool metal. He wonders if yelling out to Yixing for help would do anything, or if he would even hear him. What is behind that paper door is worrying him more. The block is too large and heavy for anyone to move.

Except Kyungsoo.

“Look, in the corners! Two more pressure plates. If you move the block onto one and I stand on the other, something might happen.”

Kyungsoo follows what the younger says, using his great strength to pick up the block, Kai moving out of his way. Once it’s placed down, the fabric wall breaks apart, and when Kai stands on the second plate, it falls away.

“Run through there!” Kai says

“But.. What about you.” Kyungsoo says.

“Just do it.”

Kyungsoo runs, hopping over the fabric and into a huge chamber with floor to ceiling pillars. He turns to find the fabric replaced over the doorway and his stomach drops, heartbeat pounding in his ears. Kyungsoo runs at the fabric, trying to break it when, suddenly, Kai appears next to him. Right, he had teleported to him, just like he promised he would.

“Yixing?” 

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Yifan wakes up with a strangled cry, sitting up as fast as he can without hurting himself. Luhan is already awake next to him and he can hear someone crying, but its not the two beside him.

“Yixing. He’s behind the door.” Luhan whispers.

“YIXING!” Yifan yells, his chest burning violently.

There’s no response, but they can hear the crying get heavier as Molaarg below them is silent in a state of sleep. Luhan whispers Yixing’s name, before they hear two other voices.

_“Yixing, what’s wrong?”_

_“Tell us, please”_

Kyungsoo and Kai, Luhan could recognize there voices from anywhere.

“They passed your puzzle.” Yifan says to Luhan, who’s staring straight ahead at the door.

_“I can hear Yifan.”_

“KYUNGSOO! KAI!” Yifan takes his cue to yell their names, hearing his name yelled in response. But no more talking could be done, as Luhan and Yifan convulse, and fall to the floor. Yifan is subjected back into his nightmare that he had seconds ago escaped. Something was chasing him down endless corridors and he couldn’t find his way out. He kept coming across empty rooms, only occupied by the bodies of his friends, his brothers. There was nothing he could do but keep going, the images of his friends, dead, staining his mind like red wine on a white floor.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

“Yixing, what’s wrong?” Kyungsoo says, running and sliding on his knees beside Yixing, who’s tears are running down his face. Kyungsoo can’t help but cup his face as Kai asks him to ‘tell us, please’.

It’s clear that Yixing can’t breath, and Kyungsoo is helping, or at least trying to. Kai’s holding his hands tight, hating it when Yixing gets upset, because Yixing is an angel, barely ever crying. The only thing that any of them could imagine making Yixing upset was something in pain, and him just standing there, unable to do anything. That was his worst fear.

“I can hear Yifan.”

Just two seconds later, through the huge pair doors to their right, hear their names being yelled. Kai yells out, afraid to bang on the doors in case something happens behind them. Kai moves away again, sliding beside Yixing and Kyungsoo, curling into Yixing’s body warmth to comfort him. How long has they been there? How long has Yixing been alone fore, listening to his friends voices through a door he couldn’t open?


	21. Chapter Twenty

Unfortunately, Chanyeol could run so much faster than Baekhyun, leaving the shorter behind in seconds. He stops to lean down, letting the elder hop onto his back and continue running, now carrying the shorter to almost save time. The images flying past them made something click in Baekhyun’s mind, and he forced himself to look away, closing his eyes.

Chanyeol stops dead and Baekhyun takes that as a sign to let go.

“What the hell? This isn’t going to go well.” Chanyeol whispers.

In front of them is a large hall. Twenty-six tiles are laid down, imbedded into the marble that they stand on. Along the right wall, is a large pane of glass standing floor to ceiling. The coving on the ceiling is gold, whilst the roof is a red material that neither of them can recognise. Baekhyun can’t escape the damn painting, as they line the walls once more. When Baekhyun looks closer, he realizes the painting have letters in the corner, scratched in like a child had done it with a knife. He sees that on both sides of the tiled flooring, is a small ledge that could be used as a walkway.

“Chanyeol, have you got anything to write with?”

“I think so.”

They both dig around in the backpacks for something to write on, Chanyeol finding a scrunched-up piece of paper and unrolls it.

“Just jot down the letters I yell out.”

Baekhyun takes his time, back pressing against the glass wall slowly edging along the ledge. Chanyeol can’t looks, terrified about the worst that could happen, turning to face the small pillar of which an open book was sat. He read over it, saying the words aloud so that Baekhyun, who was now on the other side, could hear.

“Letters on the pictures. Letters on the floor. Work out the riddle and take action.” Chanyeol sighs, but reads the riddle anyway.

“We can’t help but be,” The word is missing in the middle, “And hurt.”

“S!” Baekhyun yells, reading it off the farthest painting. Next to him is a door, unlike the others in the hallways, this one wasn’t fabric, but of course he didn’t know that. He kicks it, like it was going to do anything. Then, he runs to the second picture, cringing inwardly at the painting. It portrays a girl, having her hair pulled so her necks exposed, a knife pressing against her throat. Something genuinely makes him gag, covering his mouth quickly, but there was nothing behind it.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

As if Luhan could see through Baekhyun’s eyes, he feels the youngers pain. He saw the exact painting in front of him being the one who made the puzzle. He wished Baekhyun never saw the painting, as Molaarg had it done for the purpose of bringing memories back. Memories of Baekhyun, the boy who Luhan saw in chains, worse than ever imaginable.

Truth is, Baekhyun was demon like Luhan was, long before they were banished from the underworld as an ultimate punishment. But someone saw something in them, and let them live again, casting them into another world where they met, and created EXO. Luhan begged on his knees, asking the creator to cast in Chanyeol, as a guardian of Baekhyun, as Luhan could never do it alone. And so Chanyeol was created. Because of this, Luhan kept his memories, kept every single thing he knew about the world.

When Baekhyun was alive in the underworld, he didn’t have a life worth living. He was treated like an animal, and Luhan was the guard that watched over him. When they escaped together, they were both held in captivity, bounded by chains that kept them to the floor.

Molaarg was the one who banished them. Molaarg was the one who hurt Baekhyun in their demon lives. Molaarg took Yifan, Luhan and Tao so he could collect them all when they went to save the three. Molaarg was planning to show them all of Baekhyun’s and Luhan’s demonic side.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Baekhyun ended up reading out all the letters he could find, noticing some on the frames and carved into the wall. Suddenly, there’s a heart wrenching scream, and both boys freeze. It sounded like Sehun from afar. Chanyeol’s eyes are wide, as he says to Baekhyun ‘continue, he’ll be okay’, despite the fact his words are broken up by a stutter, and it takes him a moment for him to say the small sentence.

The pair end up with a series of letters.

H S J P U M A Y E N D E T Y O

“Okay then,” Baekhyun says, now back with Chanyeol, “Let’s work this out.”

After a few minutes of staring at the paper and mumbling at each other, a loud pounding sound resonated the area, coming from the glass window. When they both look up, Kai is stood there, sceptre in hand and a smile on his face. Together, Chanyeol and Baekhyun run to the glass, hoping nothing was wrong.

Kai starts waving his hands in a weird motion, before Baekhyun recognises what on earth he’s trying to say, and between his hands is a ball of light, throwing the area that Kai’s in, into focus. It looks like a library, but from what Chanyeol says, the other side of this room was a maze. Kyungsoo wasn’t with him. Kai’s reading something from a plaque. Chanyeol can just about read it, telling Baekhyun was it says to try and help.

Frustrated tears pool in Jongin’s brown eyes, and Chanyeol catches his attentions, wiping his eyes and shaking a finger, telling him not to cry, even though he can’t hear them. They watch as he yells something, if Kyungsoo can hear him inside the maze. There’s clearly as answer, as Kai says something and spins round, suddenly taking a book off of the shelf on his left. He looks back at Baekhyun, thanking him again and again until the elder yells at him to go and they watch was Kai runs away, carrying everything with him.

“Let’s get back to the puzzle.”

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says, the younger stopping in his tracks and turning back to face the elder, taking in his figure.

Baekhyun’s ash grey has a mixture of green and red blood, from the monsters and himself. His arms are covered in scratches and bruises from sleeping on the forest floor and the cut from the ice was still healing on his cheek. His white eyes scare him slightly, remembering the fact that he really looked blind, which he was not.

Yet.

Chanyeol looked no different. His red hair was tousled, sticking to his face with sweat. His eyes were casted over with a film of classy sorrow, knowing what feeling flowing through each member felt like. He was the happy virus of the group, but nothing he could do was going to make them smile. What Baekhyun can’t see is the rash like bruises that cover his left ankle that Yixing had healed.

“You’ll stay with me forever, right?”

There’s barely a moment between the words ending and Chanyeol crumbling to the floor, letting Baekhyun pull him close. Their happy virus bursts into tears and lets them fall, not even bothering to wipe his eyes. Chanyeol promises that he will, promises that he’ll stay by Baekhyun’s side, just like he did the day he was cast into this world. They sit for a while, before both boys find themselves studying the puzzle once more.

“What if we finish the saying?” Baekhyun’s suggests

“Yeah, but how does it go.” Chanyeol asks, leaning back.

Suddenly, Chanyeol gasps, pulling Baekhyun’s shoulder so that they look at each other.

“We can’t help but be HUMAN and get hurt! Are the letters for human there?” He asks.

Baekhyun reads out the letters, crossing off the ones that form the word human and Chanyeol turns to face the tiles. They are letters, once again, but jumbled up. Chanyeol walks up to the tiles, jumping over to step on the H, thankful that the tile turns green.

“Don’t step on the wrong letter Chan, it says there a drop underneath the wrong tiles.” Baekhyun says.

“Great.” Chanyeol mumbles, jumping over the U, then the M and then the A and N.

Baekhyun flinches away from the book as it erases the words that were there before, now reading a new question. He reads it to himself but can’t think of what the answer is.

“Who said this?”

“Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol replies almost instantly, but Baekhyun shakes his head.

“We only have S J P Y E D E T Y O. We can’t spell out Kyungsoo’s name. In fact, nobody’s name can be written.”

“First names?”

“FIRST NAMES!” Baekhyun yells, writing down everyone’s first names.

“Do Kyungsoo… D.O… D.O We have the letter Chanyeol!”

He watches as the younger jumps over to the two letters, and suddenly, the other tiles fall around him, and a glass floor raises, giving Baekhyun and him leeway to run across. Hand in hand, they run to the door, which is now open, leaving the room, only to find another huge hall.

Kai and Kyungsoo are next to another large golden set of doors, Yixing led across them, asleep. The run up to them and kneel, letting the two hug them tight. They explain the situation, and Baekhyun can help himself but to scream Tao’s name. Yixing doesn’t awaken, but Chanyeol can tell why, by the red tears streaks that ran down his face. He was breathing softly into Kai’s neck and Chanyeol offers to take him, Kai sitting up to pass the elder across onto Chanyeol’s lap, and Kyungsoo resumes what he was doing before, caressing Yixing’s hair.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Tao bolts up, letting go of Luhan’s hand and running to the cages edge, he guesses it’s Baekhyun, from the way Luhan’s eyes light up, and yell out his name, but once again, he’s brought to the floor by a horrific body seizure, that make him scream for the first time. Yifan’s awake now, tears streaming down his face as he watches his boyfriend scream in pain, but there's nothing either him or Luhan can do.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Outside the door, Baekhyun’s covering Kai’s ears, making sure he can’t hear the scream that Tao lets out. Kai hated loud noises, especially if the noise was made by another person, take Chen for example. The elder would always apologize straight after making any sort of loud noise, afraid that Kai would simply hate him. Thankfully, Kai wasn’t the type of person to hold a grudge. Baekhyun didn’t think any of EXO could hold a grudge, but they all held the same hatred for Molaarg.

For now, they would just have to wait for Suho, Sehun, Xiumin and Chen. It was one of those four who had screamed earlier, as it wasn’t the five sat in the hall.

“It’s like they made the puzzles.” Yixing mumbles, startling Kai.

“Who?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Luhan, Yifan and Tao. I had to heal some flowers. But one set didn’t need it. I was down to the last two and saw that the ones that had the most health were Luhan’s favourite flower, so I healed them and it was correct.”

“And ours was something that Kyungsoo had said to one of us.”

“They’ve been kept sane by making puzzles for Molaarg to use on us. Perhaps that’s why we know the answers.” Baekhyun whispers.

“Thankyou for helping me earlier.” Kai says.

“Of course. It’s our duty to help each other.”

 

Suddenly, another one of the hallway doors opens, and the only thing the five see is Xiumin on the floor, Chen by his side.

“XIUMIN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to make a fanart of this story and send it to me on Tumblr, I'd be really thankful!  
> My name is imyoubiaswreaker or just BiasWreaker and my picture is Tao and his dog...
> 
> P.S Thanks for all your love and support!!!!
> 
> We are one - EXOL


	22. Chapter TwentyOne

Upon hearing Baekhyun’s yell, Xiumin and Chen decide to walk through their hallway, hoping that it wasn’t a maze or something impossible. Chen takes this time to look at his bare arms, that are now covered in Lichtenberg Figure. It was something he had read about a while ago, as it was always a possibility to have it happen to him. Xiumin stops to take his hand, pulling him a little to start running until they reach a large chamber. The room is freezing, but Chen can’t feel it, only noticing when Xiumin shivers violently. In the middle of the room, splitting it in half horizontally, is a drop. Neither have the confidence or stomach to look over the edge to see what was down there. Underneath, is a drop longer than what was below the Kagcha bridge, something that would definitely kill you within seconds.

“We have to get this over and done with quickly. Its freezing in here.”

Chen nods and they both run over to read the words engraved on the wall, once again looking like a toddler had drawn them on. It makes Xiumin smile. He loved children, loved making them smile with his snow. They both notice how its not in the language they knew, but thankfully, both Yixing and Tao had been teaching them how to read it, up until the day they were taken away. They read it slowly and carefully, pointing out the symbols that they recognise and soon enough, they finish the sentence after piecing together the parts of the language that they remembered, which seemed to be more than they themselves expected.

“Freeze the lightening that your partner possesses and hit the target.”

Xiumin stops, looking at Chen with fear embedded in his eyes. He really doesn’t want to do this, and Chen can tell. But Chen can only gasp when he sees a snowflake fall in between them and land on the eldest’s eyelash, the microscopic snowflake holding such an intricate and unique design that soon melted as the elder blinked. Looking up, the prince of lightening watches as the snow falls gently from nowhere.

“Is that you doing that?” Chen asks, returning his gaze back to Xiumin, who’s now shivering even more. Chen thinks the snow is peaceful, but is being to worry about Xiumin, as he was shivering, something the prince of frost was rarely seen doing unless sick.

“No. It’s colder than I’ve ever felt.”

“Really? It feels fine to me.”

Xiumin groans and pushed himself into Chen’s warmth, shuddering once again. The younger wraps his long arm around Xiumin’s shoulders and rubs his bicep. They read over the riddle once more, trying to work out if there was another way that they could do this, without using both of their powers.

“Let me try and hit the target without you freezing it. It might work!” He says. Getting up, Chen has to leave Xiumin shivering against the wall, as more snow falls from nowhere. It’s getting heavier, almost like a blizzard, but both boys are used to it, especially Xiumin.

Chen can feel his power charging beneath his skin, a feeling he had grown used to over the years. After hours of discussing, it was only Chen who felt the anything inside him telling him that his power was being used, Chanyeol just saying that his hands got sweaty from the fire, yet never burnt. Yixing only felt warmth in his heart when healing someone, yet it still hurt knowing that somebody was hurt. In the end, Chen simply points his finger and the target, feet at the very edge of the drop. He hits the target dead on, the horribly cackle of electricity in the air. Nothing happens.

Until Chen is flung across the room, his body sliding across the floor. Xiumin cries out his name and runs to check on him, even though his fingers are slowly turning blue. Chen smiles and laughs out, somehow making the best of a tough situation. His shoulder aches from the sudden jolt.

“Guess we have to freeze lightening”

_What if I froze Chen’s lightening? What would that cause? If it hurt him, I would never forgive myself._

The words Xiumin said to himself that night echoed in his head like an empty cave, almost making his head ache. Despite whatever morals he lived by, Xiumin had to do this in order for them to continue making any way forward. There turns out to be more than one target, in total five. Some of higher or lower than the others. One of them was smaller and looked almost impossible to hit, and Chen was hoping that it didn’t take too much of his power.

Before they can do anything, a terrified scream resonates the area and both boys flinch.

“That was Sehun. Xiumin, that was Sehunnie.” Chen cries, running towards the entrance of the chamber. The prince of frost grabs his wrist, but the younger doesn’t turn around, facing the entrance as if he’s determined to leave.

“Chen, he’s with Suho. Suho is the best person he could be with right now. Remember what I told you all those years ago.”

 

They were in the fields just outside of the village where Yixing and Luhan were making daisy chains that would be bonded together strongly to create a flower crown. Chen was already wearing one, making him look more beautiful than Xiumin already thought. He was wearing a light blue jumper than hung off him, one that must be Tao’s, as Yifan never wore those colours. The blue on the jumper was nothing compared to Chen’s misty blue hair, that was slightly curled. Xiumin let Yixing jump behind on his back, placing the second flower crown on his head.

“Hey, Chen.”

Chen doesn’t hear him, as he already running down the hill towards where Suho and Yifan are calming Sehun, who had just put a hole in his knee after falling on a jagged rock. Xiumin catches up to him, stopping him before he can get any closer to the trio.

“He’s with Suho, he’ll be fine.”

“But he’s hurt!” Chen whisper-yells.

“Chen. It’s Suho. He’s basically our mother. Out of all of us, not including our healing Yixing, Suho is the best person for Sehun to be with, okay?”

Chen nods, tearing his eyes away from the scene that happening a little further down the hill, and runs back up with Xiumin to find themselves joining Luhan and Yixing in the creation of multiple flower crowns. Chen ends up chasing Yifan down, tackling him onto the ground and rolling a few times, gently placing it on top of the elder’s head and laughing loudly as Yifan gives in.

 

“I remember all too well. Let’s do this.” Chen smiles brightly, making Xiumin feel already worse than he already does.

Together, the two fire their elements, making them collide. The lightening freezes on the target, the sight beautiful. Chen gasps in pure pain, making Xiumin want to cry. He can’t help himself but pull the younger into a hug.

“I don’t want to do this.” Xiumin sobs, shivering again much more violently. The younger princes force himself to pull away and look into Xiumin’s eyes.

“Get it over with, you’re freezing to death. Plus, it doesn’t hurt as bad as you think.”

Four more times later and Chen’s used to the pain, as it wasn’t hurting as much as before. Whereas for Xiumin, his joints were beginning to seize up, and his hands were fully blue now, turning a darker purple. When Chen turns to him he cries out, grabbing the eldest of the group and picking him up, holding him tight against his chest. As he did this, Xiumin’s lips turned a light blue and his entire face grew pale, the shivering getting constant. Where the drop was, a glass floor had risen, and Chen ran over it, not even giving it the full amount of time to rise up. Glancing down, Chen notices that Xiumin’s body is slowly growing icy, snowflakes growing on his skin.

The fabric like door falls to the floor exactly the same moment as Chen falls down, Xiumin too heavy for him to carry. Xiumin’s entire body is practically blue. The elder’s body is splayed in front of him, and there being nothing he can really do.

“XIUMIN!”

Suddenly, Kyungsoo and Kai are by his side, shaking Xiumin who was now unconscious.

“Chanyeol! Yixing! Come help!”

Almost immediately, Chanyeol is covered by flames, exactly what he did when Baekhyun was in the water. He pulls Xiumin up to a sitting position, leaning against Chanyeol’s shoulder, and the younger sets him on fire. Of course, this fire was not harming him, but warming him at a fast pace. Chen shaking badly, the boy letting Kyungsoo comfort him, telling him that both Chanyeol and Yixing can make Xiumin better, which they can. It might take a little while, but the two know what they’re doing and promise to Chen that everything’s going to be okay. Thankfully, the level hadn’t reached frostbite yet, and Xiumin was nowhere near a danger zone. Whilst the elder was passed out, Chen asked a question.

“Is it bad to fall in love with someone?”

The group chuckle lightly, and Chen innocently asks if he said something wrong, which of course he hadn’t.

“Of course not. But it depends who.” Yixing says.

“Xiuminnie.” Chen whispers.

“I’m sure he’ll like you back Chen. He always speaks fondly of you.”

Kyungsoo laughs when he notices the crimson blush on Chen’s cheeks, jabbing at his sides to make the younger giggle, a sound they had all missed whilst being on this mission. Chen secretly loved falling asleep next to Xiumin, curled up against the colder prince who always made sure he was warm.

Xiumin was the one that covered his ear in the thunder storms, despite how his power lay with the stormy element. On the nights where he stood outside and flicks his hands, so the lightening hit the mountains, Xiumin was the one to catch him when he fell. Was the one who picked him off the ground when he mood hit a low. Xiumin was the one who made sure that Chen was healthy and could breath in the times when he panicked.

Xiumin was quite possibly, Chen first love.

At the same time as Chanyeol’s fire, Yixing is healing the elder’s hands, the blue fading away. Xiumin soon regains consciousness, shivering a little less violently than before, making Chen feel a little better. Baekhyun takes off his cape, draping it over Xiumin and tucking it down by his sides. It makes a minor difference, but little is better than none, or whatever Suho always says to them.

“Did you guys scream?” Xiumin stutters once his voice is back.

“No, we assumed it was someone else.” Kyungsoo says.

“Oh my god It really was Sehun.” Chen whimpers clutching Xiumin hands tight within his own.

“They’ll be here, soon right?”

“Of course, they will Baek.”

“We heard Yifan and Tao through those doors. Not Luhan, but I think he might be too injured to do so.”

Chen and Xiumin only them take in their surroundings, the pillars and the red ceiling, marble floors and no windows, but curtains that hung down from the ceiling, having no purpose whatsoever.

“You heard them? Ahh, we’re so close!” Xiumin says.

The eldest’s skin is no longer blue, his fingertips and lips thawing out as they spoke. Once Xiumin had stopped shivering, Chanyeol doused the flames, letting Chen hug the elder, then getting tackled by Chen himself with a series of thank you’s, the younger doing the same with Yixing and Baekhyun.


	23. Chapter TwentyTwo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will say Trigger Warning for a mild panic attack and scenes of blood are contained within this chapter.

Sehun’s shaking the entire time, not really listening or taking in anything Suho is saying to him as they walk down the hallway. He doesn’t take in his surroundings, doesn’t take in the horrifying imagines on the walls. Sehun can’t think straight, and he doesn’t know why. He practically walks into Suho when the elder stops dead in front of him, Sehun thankfully stopping as well before they collided.

It was another maze, but this time, white and almost blinding with how bright it was. What they didn’t know, was that this was same sort of maze that Kai and Kyungsoo had encountered. There’s no discussion between them, yet they both know what to do. Despite how much Sehun doesn’t want to leave Suho, he knows he has too, and takes the path leading to the right. Suho takes the path to the right.

Sehun is still shaking, a little more violently than before, and he soon realises he can’t hear his own breathing or footsteps, but just the rushing of blood in his head.

He ignores it, and keeps going, turning left and right, turning around at the dead ends he hits, and running down long hallways that seem to have no end.

Suho does the same, expecting to find something, but ending up finding nothing. Perhaps its just a maze that they must escape. For Suho, the silence is deafening and killing him. If Sehun were with him, he would be talking endlessly, or at least, that what he hoped he would. Just thinking about it, Sehun seemed distant ever since the scene with Yixing earlier, where they left each other in the main hall.

Sehun feels sick to the stomach before he collapses to the ground, huddling into a corner, back pressed against the cold metal behind him. The black patches that had been flickering in his vision for the last hour, ever since leaving the rose field, become larger and stay longer, forcing his vision to go blurred. He gives in, and Sehun begins crying.

He cries, not only for himself, but for the hardships his group have gone through. Cries for the idea of seeing people he hadn’t for two years. His heart physically hurts even thinking about the idea of watching Luhan die. Or Yifan. Or Tao. Or all of them. But… there’s nothing he can do. He trapped in some stupid maze that someone created in order to stop them from going any further. The youngest’s chest is heaving, and a dull pain is growing in his chest. Tears are streaming down his face faster than he can control. He wants Suho. He needs Suho. Why can’t they just be together and stay together forever?

Sehun screams.

Its loud, yet he can barely hear it himself. His hands are shaking as they tangle in his hair, pulling strands loose as he tugs violently. Sehun’s throat his burning worse than ever before. Every emotion he had been bottling up over the last two days finally breaks his dam, and the somewhat little boy breaks.

 

Suho had never moved so fast. The moment he heard Sehun’s heart-breaking scream, he drops everything and sprints as fast as he can, swearing profusely every time he was faced with a dead end. If he didn’t hurry up, there was no way Sehun would stay conscious.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Tao is the only one awake when he hears someone scream, and his mind goes to Sehun.

 

A few weeks after Sehun was cast into the EXO realm, he and Tao were alone in the castle, having nothing to do except stay out of each other’s way, as they didn’t yet know each other. As he walks towards the castles entrance, to greet the others who are finally returning from the forest, where they were collecting wood for the fire, he hears sobbing. Tao pops his head around the door, and watches as Sehun’s shoulders shake and he uselessly wipes away at his tears.

He sits on the opposite side of the bed, saying the youngers name in an attempt not to startle him. Tao can hear how Sehun’s breathing is broken, shakily breathing out. When Tao asks what wrong, a simple ‘you hate me’ are the only words that escape the younger, and Tao ends up letting the younger fall asleep on his chest, after repeating over and over that he doesn’t hate Sehun, and never will.

 

Tao’s pulled away from his memory when Luhan wakes up, pushing himself up using his right arm, left tightly wrapped around his wound that had opened overnight. Luhan can tell that someone outside the doors had spoken or something, as Tao was on high alert, but Luhan calmed him, promising him that everyone outside of this room was alright.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Suho is panicking himself now, unable to find Sehun. He finally turns a corner and Sehun is there.

Their eyes meet yet Sehun doesn’t stop crying. The younger princes vision is still too blurry for him to make anything out, and he struggles to understand that it’s Suho in front of him. The leader takes Sehun’s hands out of his hair, gently untangling the brown strands from in-between his fingers. Once both of his hands were free, Suho places Sehun’s hands over his chest, so the younger can feel the leader’s heartbeat, bringing him somewhat closer to a calm state.

Underneath his sweaty palm, Sehun can feel a constant thumping against his hands, and he begins to take the time to even his breathing out, to join the movement of the others chest. His vision gradually comes back, and he manages to look Suho in the eye. Suho smiles gently, and lets Sehun curl up in his lap, leaning against his shoulder and burying his face in the crook of the elder prince’s neck.

Suho can feel the youngers breathing against his neck, making a warm patch of skin.

“Sehunnie… Shall we continue the maze together?” Suho whispered, not using his full voice to stop scaring the younger.

Sehun nods, struggling to stand up and mostly leaning on Suho as they walked. They found another hallway, that lead to a huge chamber. There was nothing in there at all, and Suho was beginning to worry, thinking that they had missed something during the maze. Sehun was still struggling, Suho wishing that he was able to carry the younger.

Suddenly, the door and the end of the room falls to the ground, and Sehun weakly points towards it. The leader guides Sehun to the floor, telling him that he would be back, and runs to the exit of the chamber. Its another large hall with pillars, and Suho locks eyes with Chanyeol and Chen.

“Chanyeol! I need your help!” Suho yells.

Chanyeol jumps up and follows Suho, Kyungsoo and Chen following incase the door reforms like the others. The two watch as Chanyeol help Sehun up off the floor, ending up carrying him out of the chamber and back towards the group. They all huddle together, glad they were reunited. It was all calm…

Until they heard Molaarg’s voice.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Luhan is hauled out of the middle cage, the boy not even trying to stop them from taking him. Tao was unsure what the hell they were going to do to him.

**“I’m going to open your wound again Prince Lu Han.”**

Luhan hated it when anyone used his name like that. His real name. Luhan doesn’t make any facial expression after learning what Molaarg was about to do. Upon seeing Molaarg’s black magic create a sword, Luhan closes his eyes and braces for what is about to happen next.

The sword pierces straight through Luhan’s wound, blood and black magic pooling around the sword, slowly dripping onto the floor and making a small puddle. Luhan’s golden cape is already soaked in blood, and he would probably have to take it off to use a cleaner part to press against his wound. When Molaarg twists the sword, Luhan screams, the noise echoing around the room and scaring the heck out of Yifan. The boy falls to his hands and knees, constantly screaming and crying out for the pain to stop. Mixed in with the blood was the black magic that had been injected into them to stop their powers from regenerating. Luhan’s arms gave out the same time Molaarg pulled the sword from his body, the boy collapsing on the floor and falling unconscious.

Yifan couldn’t take his eyes off the scene in front of him. The cages were on the floor, but there was no use in either him or Tao attempting to escape. A monster scooped Luhan up, and Yifan literally growled, not wanting their vicious, disgusting arms touching Luhan. They placed him back in the middle cage. The cage was hoisted into the air, halfway to where it usually was, when the huge doors flung open.

And their stood Suho, Yixing, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Sehun, Chen, Xiumin, Kai and Kyungsoo.

 

EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO---EXO

 

Chanyeol gently places Sehun in Yixing’s lap, who caresses his hair and makes sure that he was all alright. Suho explains what they had to do, and Kai groans, telling the leader that they had a bunch of riddles to solve within their maze. Baekhyun is talking to Chanyeol, whilst Kyungsoo is walking around the large hall, studying the indents and engraved statues.

Everyone freezes when they hear Molaarg.

**“I’m going to open your wound again Prince Lu Han.”**

“NO!” Sehun yells, getting pulled back from the door by both Kyungsoo and Yixing. The youngest prince is struggling against them, trying to get to Luhan, who’s behind the door somewhere.

When they hear him scream, Sehun stops struggling, knowing it’s too late for him to even prevent any form of pain. The group can only watch as Sehun breaks, tears once again falling down his soft cheeks. Yixing buries his head into the space between Sehun’s shoulder, he himself getting upset at the screams Luhan lets out. They all hope to god that Tao and Yifan aren’t watching. Chanyeol is covering Kai’s ears, large hands preventing the sound from reaching Kai, but Kai can tell something’s wrong, by the way both Baekhyun and Chanyeol have tears in their eyes. The prince of teleportation reaches up and pulls Chanyeol’s hands off his ears, listening to the screams that are obviously Luhan’s, judging by how high pitched his voice was, plus, everyone knew exactly what his voice sounded like. Kai clearly doesn’t like it, and lets Chanyeol cover his ears once more. Xiumin’s rocking Chen back and fourth gently, soothing the youngers tears that are significantly less than Sehun’s.

Yixing’s sobs grow louder as he hears Luhan cry out in their language, him being the only one in the group that can properly understand what he just said.

Sehun spins in Yixing’s embrace, the two sobbing softly into each other’s shoulders. The screams stop almost as suddenly as they started, and the group can only guess that Luhan has lost consciousness. Baekhyun gasps loudly as a pain in his left hip spikes in his body, and Yixing rushed over to do a mental check on what was wrong.

Nothing. Nothing at all was wrong with Baekhyun.

What it was, what they didn’t know it was, was the bond linking Luhan to Baekhyun. The younger of the two had felt just a percentage of what Luhan was going through.

“We have to get in there right now.” Kyungsoo says.

They all silently agree, and end up standing in a line. They can hear Molaarg behind the set of large doors, laughing and talking to his monsters. As they stand there, Sehun is preparing to use his powers to blow the doors open. They will be reunited.

And that’s exactly what happens.


	24. Chapter TwentyThree

EXO are reunited.

Yifan and Tao yell out the names that come to their mind, them being Yixing and Baekhyun. They all looked deadly tired and each of them had visible tear streaks on their cheeks. They all wanted to free the three trapped under these awful conditions that none of them had ever seen before.

The group on the ground stared at Molaarg, their gaze full of hatred and murder.

**“I’m happy to see you. I just finished with Lu Han”**

“That’s not his name.” Sehun yells.

The group ensue a fighting stance the moment magic flies into the air, bending and melting together to make what looked like arrows in the air, above the monster’s body.

Molaarg’s body is much bigger than a house. Long, slimy green arms are crossed around his torso, one arm up to create the arrows in the air. His eyes are red, eyeing up each member until he’s happy with their appearances. Molaarg’s flicks one hand and the arrows are heading straight towards them, at a speed greater than light. Chen steps forward, his own hand moving quickly to create a lightening barrier between them and the arrows, sending them back towards Molaarg, but the monster simply injects them like a drink.

Molaarg tries over and over, but Chen keeps up his fight. In this time, Chanyeol takes a moment to look at the three locked in cages. There’s no lock or hinge on the cage, which suggests they were magically opened and closed. Luhan is the only one that he can’t see, as his back is facing them. What he can see, is Luhan’s golden cape is stained and speckled in blood. Tao is gripping onto the far left cage bars, his face wounded and magenta hair stuck to his face. Yifan is on the right of Luhan, who’s in the middle, the prince of flight is holding something onto Luhan, what Chanyeol guesses to be his cape to stop the bleeding of the wound.

Chen has to stop before his power become weak and let’s Kyungsoo do his thing. As Molaarg no longer needed his minions, as he thought he was going to win, he crumbled them to debris, the scales making a useful weapon for Kyungsoo to use. They are heavy, even when using his power to lift them into the air. With one hand, kyungsoo is bringing them too him, the other throwing them at Molaarg, who makes no sign of being hurt, except the holes in his torso dripping with a blue liquid that the presume is his blood.

Molaarg is much bigger than any of them expected, making them aware of how much power they would have to use to defeat them. They had to protect Yixing. If the only healer of the injured, it would be harder for him to do.

**“Where did you find that sceptre and sword? I believe they belong to me.”**

“Exactly where we found out you hurt our Luhan”

Luhan groans at the mention of his name, and tries to roll over, unfortunately  hitting his hip on the cage bar and almost screaming in pain again. The attacks from Molaarg suddenly get faster, as the group take to dodging them. Baekhyun manages to roll underneath an arrow after Yifan tells him to watch out. More like yells for him to watch out.

Tao can see that both Chanyeol and Xiumin are aiming for the cage, but both jump to dodge another arrow and are two focused to dodging right now. When Chen hits Molaarg with his lightening, it collides with Suho’s water, and both combined make and horrendous sound and creates another area where blood is spilling out. They do it again, but it gets blocked by another round of black magic.

Kai pushed the sceptre into Kyungsoo’s hands and whispers what he’s going to do into his eye.

“Stab the sceptre into Molaarg’s eye and try to blind him. I will teleport you there and back.”

Kyungsoo nods, taking the sceptre tight within his grasps and hops onto Kai’s back. Less than a second later, Kai is in mid-air, Kyungsoo pushing the sceptre further and deeper into Molaarg’s eye until he cries out, swinging his arm at the pair. Kai manages to teleport away before they get hit, still falling to the floor.

The battle stops for a moment, when a target appears on the floor. None of the group on the ground can really see it, but from above, Tao and Yifan can.

“IT’S A TARGET! MOVE!” Tao yells, flinching his hands up beside his head and they barely step out of the target circles before a loud explosion fills the room. The explosion rips open both Baekhyun’s and Suho’s shirts, only the upper half staying intact. Now, Yifan can see the horrible scars on Baekhyun’s stomach, ones that were almost perfectly mirrored on his own chest and stomach. Tao can’t bring himself to look away from Chen, feeling awful for the elder. Tao knew that Chen would do anything to avoid getting Lichtenberg figure, yet he had gathered it in the time they were gone. Whether it was during this mission, or just a crazy thunderstorm, Tao didn’t know. One thing the encaged younger did know, what that he was going to use his power later on in the battle, hoping that his time control would come in handy at some point. If not, Tao would feel completely useless, like he did when Luhan was getting hurt. Like he did when Yifan was crying.

Another explosion happens just as Baekhyun plunges the room into darkness. The only thing any of them could see was Chanyeol’s fire that was shooting endlessly at Molaarg. When Yixing looked, he saw that only ten percent of Molaarg’s power was gone. They were so focused on the battle, it was almost hurting their heads.

Luhan on the other hand, felt like he was in another realm.

The prince of telekinesis could hear their words, could understand what was going on, yet couldn’t hear what they were saying or what was going on. Luhan was still drifting in and out of consciousness. His mind was only filled with the images that the sounds around him brought along. Those images consisting of his baby Baekhyun, getting slapped repeatedly, the other demons calling him an angel. In the underworld, calling a demon an angel was like calling a human a monster. Luhan flinched at the sight of Baekhyun getting hurt, but later on, when all the demons were gone, and he was on guard, Luhan would slide to the floor and slip the pieces of soft bread into Baekhyun’s mouth, the younger unable to even move his jaw properly, due to what they had done to him. Luhan would sit on the floor for however long it took Baekhyun to eat the three large chunks of bread Luhan could sneak into his pouch and drink what the elder demon had left over.

Luhan hated being a guard, having to watch over Baekhyun as he was pounded, punched, slapped and yelled at, all him being able to do was sneak bread and water from the demon’s lunch and take it back to him.

**“You would never believe what happened to you Prince Baekhyun.”**

Baekhyun ignored the words immediately, shooting arrows of his own power into the arrows that Molaarg made, dark and light magic contradicting each other in the air. Baekhyun ended up stepping back, bumping into Chanyeol who smiled brightly as him. Luhan finally managed to chose between being awake or in a state of unconsciousness. He hauled himself up, thankful that Yifan was there to help him get up. Tao yelled at Chanyeol and Xiumin, who were aiming for the cages, he told them to only aim for his and Yifan’s. Chanyeol took that as a warning that Luhan wasn’t able to move away from the bars far enough.

Chanyeol was the first to shoot, the fire burning the bars but not breaking them enough. The metal bars began to crack. Xiumin’s frost was the second attack to the cages, the cold immediately forcing the cracks apart.

Suddenly, they both were flung across the room before either Tao or Yifan could have the chance to warn them. Chanyeol hit the doors with a horrible thud, Xiumin just sliding across the floor. Yixing cross the sword over his chest and ran towards the two, making sure that they were okay. It seemed that Chanyeol had hit his head badly, as the younger wasn’t replying to Yixing when he asked if he could hear him. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo moved all the way back, protecting the three as Yixing began to heal them slowly. If he did it slowly, he wouldn’t waste as much power.

Xiumin had hit his shoulder on the floor so hard that it was painful to even move.

So they no longer had Chanyeol and Xiumin.

Now, them down created a target for Molaarg to hit. They would have to protect both of them.

“THE TARGETS ON CHANYEOL!” Yifan yelled, trying his utmost to help.

Baekhyun didn’t know how much time he had to get Chanyeol out of the target area, glad that Xiumin was outside of the area already. The prince of light sprinted over, hauling Chanyeol up against his chest by sliding his arms under the youngers. All Baekhyun could do was drag. He dragged Chanyeol out of the target area, practically throwing the rest of his body over. The only thing that was caught in the explosion in the target was Baekhyun ankle. The fire burned his skin, making it a raging red. Chanyeol was still out cold, and Baekhyun was forced to try and get up, but was brought back to the floor by Xiumin, who was cooling the youngers ankle. In the end, Baekhyun was able to get back up, but neither Chanyeol or Xiumin were.

Chen was still combining his and Suho’s power when Molaarg stopped firing his arrows and stopped putting target area’s on the ground.

**“I don’t understand why your trying.”**

Molaarg’s voice was slurred, like a drunk man and his hands were tightly intertwined. All of them were scared for some sort of surprise attack. But nothing came.

**“You know I’m going to win.”**

“You underestimate us.” Yixing yells, slashing through the air with the sword, leaving behind a trail of flames.

**“I could kill Luhan right here, right now and everything you have worked for would’ve been for nothing.”**

“Kill him and I’ll kill you.” Sehun says confidently.

Molaarg scoffs and almost sends Sehun flying, if it wasn’t for the barrier of debris Kyungsoo made just in time to block the attack. Kyungsoo gets pushed back by the sheer force of the attack. Sehun ducked behind him, a little scared. With a sudden thought, Sehun used his wind to force the debris that Kyungsoo had in the air into Molaarg’s body, listening as Yixing shouted out how his health bar was looking.

**“Give up Princes of EXO. You will not win this.”**

“Why not? We have everything we need to kill you.”

At that exact moment, a target area was placed over them, and the explosion was almost immediate, sending each of them flying into the various walls and pillars across the room. Tao cried out, looking away as their bodies collided with the walls and marble floors. Chanyeol and Xiumin were now awake, but after that, their bodies were even more painful. Baekhyun was shining a little, his power making his body glow with the burning anger that was boiling under his skin. Yixing and Suho were next to each other, both having been shoved into a pillar. Kyungsoo had cracked the floor upon contact with the marble, clear that it was his power. Chen had somehow electrocuted Molaarg at the same time as falling to the ground whilst Sehun had tried and failed to jump out of the way.

Yifan felt sick when he heard a crack when Luhan moved next to him, and swiped away the tears that were falling down his soft cheeks. The younger hated it when Luhan cried, because it made him feel awful.

**“I know all of your secrets.”**


	25. Chapter TwentyFour

Everyone knew that the monster knew many secrets about each of them, including the ones he kept in cages by his side. Was it possible to kill him? Even then, what would happen to his kingdom? Would they fall into the hands of EXO, and would they have to reign over them? Could they reign over another kingdom after it had been destroyed? They could have a much bigger kingdom if they took this one over, fixing the bridge to allow merchants and traders to cross, but that wasn’t the thing to be thinking about at the moment. The group had finally got themselves up again, Chen and Sehun close to the front, the other in a broken line behind.

Molaarg smiled disgustingly, sending a shiver down Sehun’s spine as he moved to hide behind Chen.

Suddenly, his dark magic was shooting towards them. Sehun quickly fought away his fear, pushing his hands out and pushing the magic back with wind. Despite this, the monster continued firing, which was bouncing off the shield Sehun made with wind. Chanyeol and Xiumin were still recovering. Hopefully they could get back into the battle as soon as they could. They needed to. All twelve of them could kill Molaarg, but even with nine they would do it.

**“Ah, you are a strong child Prince Sehun. That power would be great by my side.”**

Sehun’s force field dropped as he screamed ‘Get down!’. The magic was absorbed into the walls, probably transferring back into Molaarg. The power caused a awful strong aura around them.

A cough racked through Baekhyun, as if something was choking him. The cough caused a tight feeling in his chest. It was the same feeling that he held deep inside, like something that shouldn’t be here was inside him. It was hurting him.

**“What do you wish for Prince Baekhyun?”**

“That you release my friends.” The prince replied, nonchalantly.

Molaarg laughed, head lolling back before his red eyes met directly with Baekhyun’s white orbs. Baek quickly assumed a fighting stance, knowing whatever attack was next was aimed at him. But nothing came, except the monster’s thick voice.

**“You were banished from hell. The angel you are portrayed to be is a lie, as you are a demon from the deepest, darkest depths of hell.”**

Baekhyun froze, like vines were tightly grasping his feet, limiting his movement, dropping his stance in the midst of it. The elders looked at him, whilst the youngers almost looked scared of him. It made Baekhyun’s heart break. He was a demon? That what had been wrong with him from the very beginning. All those times where his body thought he was using powers, his body was really telling him something devilish was happening inside of him. He was… a demon.

“That’s… that’s not true! I’m the prince of light!” Baekhyun yelled in reply, tears pooling in his white eyes.

From his cage, Luhan used his little remaining power to enter Baekhyun’s head, forcing him to go deaf to the outside world, only to hear his voice in his mind. Baekhyun couldn’t tear his gaze from Luhan, who was looking straight back at him. It felt like white noise, but every word Luhan spoke was clear, like the elder was talking directly to him.

_“He’s not lying Baek… You were banished, hence why you appeared so suddenly. I am, too, a demon. I knew you in the underworld. Therefore, you mean so much to me. I used my powers to connect your thoughts to Chanyeol when you were drowning. We have a bond Baekhyun.”_

Luhan fell, slumping against the cage bars as his wound opened again, blood slowly trickling down his side, staining his golden cape that had fallen to one side. Baekhyun didn’t want to believe anything either of them said, but no one could disagree with Luhan, as he knew anything and everything. Chanyeol was now behind him, a hand resting on the back of his neck, something the prince of fire did to comfort people.

Yixing’s body was now encircled by a green light, strips of different shades merging into one. He was trying to get it up to Luhan. But it didn’t work.

The monster just flicked it’s hand, and Yixing’s body fell like a doll dropped by a small child. Yifan yelled, even with his voice hoarse and throat burning. He shook the cage bars violently, trying even harder to escape. He couldn’t just watch. Tearing his gaze from the battle below, he looked to his side, across the cage where Luhan was being kept. The elder was still slumped against the metal, blood streaming faster from his wound. Luhan didn’t have enough energy to cry out at the others, telling them to watch out for the monsters vicious blows. He shouldn’t have entered Baekhyun’s mind, but at the same time, it was the best thing he could’ve done. Why were they so close yet so far apart?

Baekhyun’s anger exploded in a mixture of light and smoke. He lit up his entire body, eyes glowing whiter than before, like he was actually beginning to blind himself. The scream was louder than anyone had ever heard from the boy, echoing around the large room. His throat was on fire as the cry ripped through it. Everyone clenched their eyes shut, as the light that escaped Baekhyun was brighter than they could take. The monster howled in pain, it’s health bar decreasing to a little below halfway.

When they opened their eyes, Baekhyun was on the floor, leaning on his arms to keep him up. Smoke was slowly rising from his burning skin, pain clear on his face.

“Why? They did NOTHING!” He yelled, drained of all his power. Yifan could feel his fear radiating from him, all the way below.

Tao still had his eyes closed and hands lightly pressed over his ears, but his face was scrunching up as if he also heard what Baekhyun had to say. At least, that’s what Yifan thought.

“You brought me into this world because I was not worthy of being a creature from hell. Then you take away my friends. All I have done is exist.” He whimpered, hands shaking.

Without them knowing, Tao was up. He noticed the long and deep cracks in the bars above him and moves to far away from them. Despite the pain and the aching in his body, Tao sprints at the bars, and they break underneath his body which sends him falling down. Once he hears the bars hit the floor, he jumps, landing with little bounce in his step to stop any of his bones from shattering.

A sudden bang echoed the hall, and everyone flinched, unable to see where the noise came from. Metal clanged against the floor as it fell from a height. Someone jumped down, taking one of the metal bars as a weapon, and that’s when everyone’s eyes widened.

Tao had escaped. Chanyeol’s fire had weakened the bars, Xiumin’s frost attack had broken it enough for the younger to push them apart and escape. He was weak, but had an idea. Whether it would work, was a matter on if the others would cooperate. The fall wasn’t as bad as he would’ve fought. Tao hadn’t seen them in two years. How he even had the strength to do anything, they didn’t know. Tao’s body was no longer under the control of Molaarg as the black magic in his body was wearing off slowly. They simply HAD to trust him. He began walking backwards, as Yixing was now standing once more. Luckily, Yixing got the idea and wrapped his arms round the youngers torso as he froze time for everyone but the two of them. Yixing managed to heal Tao enough for his to try and fight. Everybody was stunned at the close sight of him.

His eyes were bloodshot and a mixture of his inherited dark undereyes and no sleep. His shirt was torn and multiple stains covered his torso. Scars covered every inch of his visible skin and the branded X on his side was standing out. His magenta hair was dirty and stuck to his face with sweat and tears. His body is slim, too slim.

Releasing time, Tao ran forward, but not enough to anger Molaarg. He turned to face Kyungsoo.

“It’s a metal bar. Do your work.”

Kyungsoo nodded as he reached out. The metal began to break under Kyungsoo’s power, and once it broke, it left a sharp edge, something Tao could try and use as a weapon.

But there was no point in him even trying, as the injection Molaarg had placed in their blood at the very beginning of this ordeal, forced his body to convulsed, his knees buckling and body hitting the floor. The prince of time was still very much conscious, just unable to move due to pain. The magic hadn’t been completely wiped out of his blood, it just wasn’t visible!

“Use your powers, just attack him GO!” Tao yelled.

 

Suddenly, time was slowed, the group of princes moving normally. Chanyeol’s hands were immersed in fire, the exact same with Baekhyun but with light. Behind Chanyeol, the powerful phoenix flapped its large wings, preparing for a mighty attack. Chen would activate his powers much closer and Sehun was to help him surround Molaarg with lightening by using his power of wind. Kai took the sceptre in his hands, ready to teleport closer and stab the monster.

Suho would heat up the water pooling about his hand, forcing the liquid into the cracks of the monsters skin that Kyungsoo would make with his power. Xiumin was ready to freeze up Molaarg’s joints, making him unable to fight and Yixing gripped the sword harder, hoping to do more damage than not.

As a group, the all ran forward, Kai teleporting himself into the air, hoping that where Tao had slowed time, he would stay in the air a little longer. The sceptre pierced the creatures skin easily, and the sword in Yixing’s hands burned and burned away at its insides. Chanyeol’s phoenix was diving over and over again, scorching the outside of Molaarg and slowly seeping inside to kill him. With Sehun’s wind and Chen’s lightening, the monsters entire body was engulfed in electric bolts that send thousands of shocks through his body at once.

“Yifan! Kick the bars!” Suho yells, still attacking with full force.

Yifan listened to their words and stood up, mustering what was left of his strength to violently kick the bars of the cage, the metal snapping and falling to the floor. He was thankful that the cages were lower to the ground than usual. The prince of flight also thanked Xiumin and Chanyeol under his breath, glad that both powers combined had helped the bars break. Before Yifan even tried to jump down, he looked to his right, where Luhan was still unconscious in the far corner. The bar on the very corner of the cage was still intact, and an idea struck Yifan.

If he broke that one bar, he should be able to get into the conjoined space and get Luhan. Underneath him, he could hear the members yelling at each other to do different things, and could see Chanyeol’s phoenix burning bright, diving into Molaarg’s slowly weakening body. The entire hall was just full of yelling and the cackle of various powers. Tao was still somewhere below, because Molaarg’s movements were still slowed.

The grip on the corner bar tightened and Yifan pulled, thankful the metal bended under his strength, now giving him room to gather the older prince. There was no way his strength would hold out long enough to use his flight to get them down, so he had to jump, a risk he had to take. Gathering the significantly smaller boy into his arms, Yifan held him tight, aware that he could actually hurt Luhan if he held on too tight. Swearing under his breath, Yifan braced himself before jumping down. All the strength used just to jump wore him out, glad once again that he wasn’t expected to fight alongside the remaining member. He stayed on the floor, unable to move properly without a burst of pain.

 

Sehun was shot back, the sudden and swift movement of Molaarg’s arm sending him flying and hitting the wall. A cough sent blood dripping down Sehun’s chin and onto his white outfit. He coughed again and again until his vision blurred more than expected. Through a hazy vision, Sehun smiled at the sight of Luhan, even if the elder was hurt. Sehun closed his eyes and wished to anyone and everything that was listening for his remaining member to survive this. Finally, letting the blurriness take over, Sehun’s body went limp and he fell unconscious.

Yifan kept hold of Luhan, struggling to keep his emotions at bay as the elder in his arms whimpered and barely held onto him with weak and nimble fingers. Yifan pulled his focus from Luhan to look across the room at Sehun, and then to Tao, who was now standing.

Yixing looked at the health bar once again, smirking almost evilly at the sight of the red bar. It was decreasing at a quick rate and he realized he had only seen this once, and that was when an animal in from of him shattered like glass. Yelling out, he warned everyone around him.

“Molaarg’s going to shatter! Everyone run and attack from afar!” Yixing cried.

The group retreated faster than expected, now alongside Tao. Kyungsoo glanced behind him, checking on Yifan kneeled on the floor.

“Yifan, get behind me.” The younger said, watching as Yifan shuffled over with Luhan, using Kyungsoo as a form of protecting because that prince could take anything and used himself as a shield in many situations, the first being when Sehun was cast into the world, all those years ago.

Tao moved away, stumbling over to cover Sehun’s body as Molaarg screamed, a horrifically low groan mixed with various levels of pain and horror.

Molaarg’s body cracked like a china doll, another series of groans and screeches escaping his mouth. His eyes bulged like planets in the night sky and its body convulsed violently, much worse than Luhan’s or Tao’s convulsions. Yet, whatever was happening, it wasn’t enough to kill him.

Yixing took one look at the sword in his hands and decided. He threw it as far as he could, the sharp point just being enough to take Molaarg’s death to the next level. The monster howled and howled, it’s body almost splitting apart as the cracks got larger and deeper. With one last shot of Chanyeol’s phoenix, Molaarg’s body exploded into hundreds, thousands, millions of pieces of glass that were tinted green and covered thickly in blood. The glass pieces fell to the ground and a shockwave was sent through the room.

The group turned away, suddenly being flung into various places across the room. That was the end.

Molaarg was dead.


	26. Chapter TwentyFive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry for this chapter in advance...

Kai and Chen shot up, not looking at what was around them, darting to Sehun’s side to check on him. The younger’s breathing was clearly weak, and Kai was glad he was okay. Tao had been flung back towards Yifan, where the power had bounced of the wall and forced him back. Tao had leaned over Luhan to hug Yifan, pulling away almost immediately to help press down on Luhan’s wound, trying so hard to get the bleeding to stop. Yixing was out cold, his power drained from his body. They didn’t care about not seeing each other for a year, as their member were in pain.

“Molaarg’s dead!” Yelled Kyungsoo, earning various smiles from the group as it was still setting in.

But before anyone could celebrate properly, Chanyeol’s white shirt was stained with a rose of blood that hadn’t been there before. An arrow had pierced his chest. He tried not to make a sound, but all attention was turned on him anyway. It must’ve come from Molaarg’s body, moments before he died. His hands curled around the arrow that was now lodged in his chest. If he pulled it out, the blood would escape, so he held it tightly inside. His breathing caused the area around the arrow to constrict, another level of pain added onto the already awful wound. Adrenaline forced his body to shake, now aware of what was really happening. There was no pain suddenly, it just felt…

Cold?

Baekhyun ran forward, catching the taller before he fell, Chanyeol’s body being much heavier than he thought, Baekhyun slowly bringing the two onto the floor. His body was shuddering and Baekhyun’s hands were fluttering about his body, not sure where he could touch without it hurting. Neither of them cared about what was happening around them, their focus on the other person in front of them. Baekhyun swiped the youngers fringe from his face, the red strands falling through his long fingers. Tears dripped from his eyes onto Chanyeol’s cheeks, alongside his own.

“Chan…Chanyeol?” Baekhyun could only whisper, terrified.

He would fail. Chanyeol was going to fail. He was supposed to stay alive to protect Baekhyun. Protect him for a long as they were both alive. And he was about to die. His breaths were becoming laboured as his lungs struggled to continue doing their work, alongside the element of panic. Baekhyun emotions crashed, hitting the floor in a mess if they were objects. There would be no one in the world to protect Baekhyun, but was there anything for him to be protected from, now that the king was dead? The only real reason Chanyeol was in this world was to protect Baekhyun and the others, but Luhan would always say different, despite knowing the actual reason himself. He was there for Baekhyun’s comfort, someone that Baekhyun could love.

“Baek…hyun… I’m so…sorry.”

“No, no no no! Don’t apologize please, don’t. Chanyeol just don’t speak, you’ll be okay.” Baekhyun was rambling.

“I… love… love you…”

Baekhyun froze. For so many years, the prince of light looked up to the younger, jealous of his way to make friends with anyone, and make everyone laugh with one sentence. Baekhyun loved Chanyeol with all his heart, and now he was dying in his arms. If this moment could last forever, Baekhyun wanted it to, but without the pain. Tears streamed faster down his face now as he strokes the youngers hair repeatedly. That midnight in the abandoned forest wasn’t just a dream.

“Ask… Luhan… He knows… He sent me…”

Chanyeol moved his head away as a cough racked his weak body. Blood spilling from the corners of his mouth, staining his paling lips. Had Luhan sent him to care for him? Baekhyun didn’t know anymore, he wasn’t paying attention, he couldn’t. Baekhyun’s head shot up, staring across the room at an unconscious Yixing. With the only healer of the group down, there was no way for Chanyeol to get better. Tao and Yifan were still knelt by Luhan, holding the elder’s cape tight against his wound. Suho and Xiumin couldn’t move, terrified like Baekhyun was. Sehun was limp in Kai’s and Chen’s arms, the only one left being Kyungsoo. But there was nothing he could do, as his power lay with the earth, mass destruction. All he could do was probably hurt Chanyeol further, so he stepped away, almost hiding behind Chen and his ensemble. Kyungsoo’s face was pale, moving himself to genuinely hide behind Chen.

Baekhyun’s tears were no longer silent, but soft sobs that escaped his cracked lips where he didn’t know what to do. Chanyeol had been there for all his life, and now he was going to disappear. Baekhyun resisted the urge to lie down next to him and just wait, but it hurt too much to think about.

“Please… don’t cry.” Chanyeol whispers.

Giving in to whatever feelings Baekhyun held for Chanyeol, he leaned down and closed the gap between them, forcing their lips together.

 _“You’ll stay with me forever right?”_ The words echo Chanyeol’s head.

The kiss was sweet, slightly metallic from the taste of blood. Baekhyun closed his eyes, feeling the tears cascade down his cheek and onto Chanyeol’s as the younger kissed back weakly. Both wanted to time to stop, but if it did, the restarting of time would be harder. Baekhyun struggled to pull away, terrified even more if he did so, but he had to breathe. Their eyes met for a moment, white orbs meeting soft brown ones that were filled with tears. Chanyeol shakily breathed out, the air getting caught in his chest.

“I’m sorry Chanyeol, I’m sorry!” Baekhyun cried out, forehead down against the younger’s chest, feeling his constantly slowing heartbeat.

“I don’t want to leave…” Whispered Chanyeol, breaking Baekhyun’s heart further if that were possible.

Chanyeol’s eyes fluttered shut, another cough hurting his body more than he expected. When the prince of fire stopped moving, Baekhyun truly started to panic.

“SUHO PLEASE DO SOMETHING!” He yelled, shaking the younger’s body in an attempt to wake him. He immediately gave up when Suho teared up. Suho could only feel like he had failed the younger, Yifan felling the same he looked up, watching in a horrible realisation that nothing could actually stop this moment from happening.

There was nothing anyone could do. Baekhyun no longer cared that his hands were covered in blood when he hauled Chanyeol into his lap, rocking both together. The arrow was still lodged, tight in his chest, Baekhyun terrified of hurting him any further. It was all over, they had freed Yifan, Tao and Luhan, the one thing Chanyeol wanted to do before he died. Baekhyun was barely crying anymore, more like hysterically screaming as tears streamed from his eyes. Chanyeol’s red hair filled his line of sight as he buried his face in his hair. Chen was facing away from the two, tears falling from his own eyes. Memories echoed his mind like pictures on a wall.

 

When Chanyeol when through a phase of having nightmares, Baekhyun was the one to read him the various stories from the library until the younger fell asleep. It became a nightly routine until he finally fell out of that phase. When he did, Baekhyun couldn’t fall asleep without reading, so now reading was an important thing in his life.

That time when Baekhyun and Chanyeol went outside in the snow that Xiumin had made, alongside the natural snowfall. The other members secretly watching them as they had a pretty intense snowball fight. Chanyeol was more wrapped up than anyone else in the kingdom, a coat, two or three different scarfs, a hat and a pair of gloves that Yifan had chucked him. Baekhyun ended up on the floor, Chanyeol falling to lie beside him as they waited for their giggles to subside.

 

Chanyeol was dead. His heart stopped beating and his body was cold, pale. Baekhyun’s harsh sobs continued, crying out Chanyeol’s name as he sobbed. Everyone felt awful, watching as Baekhyun’s love of his live left this world in his arms. Sehun had finally come around, sitting up to face the scene, He couldn’t bring himself to ask what happened when he saw the arrow lodged in the prince’s chest. The youngest’s face was laced with fear, confusion and sorrow, wanting to cry himself alongside Baekhyun. No one had ever seen Baekhyun like this. They all wanted to run over and comfort him, but none of them could move, frozen to their places.

“THE SERUM!” Yelled Yifan, deep voice making everyone flinch.

“The arrow, it was from Molaarg, so the serum must work if we inject it.”

“Try it” Yixing had somehow awoken in the midst of everything, stumbling over so Yifan could help him over to Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s eyes were puffed red from tears when he looked up. Yixing stoked his ash grey hair away from his face where it had been stuck to his cheek with the tears. Kai quickly stepped up, shuffling down to take Baekhyun’s hand, leading him away from the lover’s body. The prince of light ended up sat on Kai’s lap, still snuffling into his shoulder and Tao, Chen and Kyungsoo sat besides, rubbing the elder’s back to calm him down.

Everyone else was by the side of Chanyeol’s body, gently pulling the arrow from his chest, glad there was no more blood when they dislodged it. Yixing was trying to heal him whilst they did this entire process, power level till low.

“Stop, Yixing, if you need to.” Suho said, left hand wrapped around Chanyeol’s.

“I will. Just inject it now, his health bar has a little left. I think its where Baekhyun, you know.”

“Loved him”. Yifan finished

Suddenly, Xiumin jumped up to run away, sliding on his knees beside Luhan to continue pressing on the youngers wound, holding the slightly healed flesh together. Sehun quickly moved to join him, knowing that Luhan was not dead, but just incredibly injured.

“We’ll get him home Sehun. Then I think Yixing can heal him.” Xiumin whispers, voice quiet to avoid distracting the others from their intense focus on getting Chanyeol awake.

 

After Chanyeol was injected, Yixing went around to Luhan, Tao and finally Yifan, making sure they were also injected. Baekhyun was still sobbing, a little less harsh then before, but there were still some tears being shed. Kai was the perfect pillow. Kyungsoo had never been so glad for injections Everyone was thankful that they had found one more. Perhaps it was fate? Luhan groaned as he felt something rising in his throat. He rolled over quickly and violently, both Sehun and Xiumin flinching. The elder prince couldn’t help gagging before a flow of black magic tumbled out of his mouth, his body involuntarily retching to empty his stomach of the magic Molaarg had injected into him, not the serum. It had a metal taste, much worse than blood ever tasted.

Yifan had the same happen to him, the elder prince moving away from Chanyeol to bring up all the magic. Tao was the last, collapsing onto Yifan who gently rubbed circles into his back to help somewhat. Yifan could hear the younger groaning and whimpering between each gag, his throat beginning to burn like never before. After he, managed to calm down, Tao moved onto Yifan’s kap and whispered into his ear.

“Is… Chanyeol going to survive?”

“I’m not sure baby… With Yixing, the injection and the true love of Baekhyun, I think he will.” Yifan whispered back.

Tao had never been so glad to hear words like that. The younger tangled his fingers with Yifan’s, messing with the slim fingers. The physical constant was welcome with both of them. Luhan was currently being smothered by Sehun, Xiumin almost screeching when he saw them kissing. It was another paring in the group that had been pining for each other for a while, despite the two-year ling separation.

Chanyeol, however, made no movement or sign of waking up. Baekhyun gave up doing anything, just burying his face further into Kai’s neck to gather comfort.

“We should get back to the castle.” Suho mumbled, everyone managing to hear him

“It’s going to take while.” Chen replied.

“Can we at least group hug first?” Kai asked, like the child he really was inside.

Together everyone shuffled around, Kai carrying Baekhyun and Yifan carrying Chanyeol. There arms were intertwined as Chen choked out a small, weak ‘we are one’ and everyone who was awake repeating it quietly. Luhan groans a little, him and Sehun holding his wound as tight as ever. Without a second thought, Kai closed his eyes and yelled out, teleporting himself and the eleven others back to the castle without stopping anywhere in-between. His plan had worked perfectly, just how he wanted it to go, yet without much planning at all. It felt like the world was closing in on them, and Chen found himself unable to ask what the hell was going on. Luhan felt painless, which brought him a feeling of happiness that soon ended alongside the teleporting process. For Kai, the entire thing was full of pain, his body wasn’t built for teleporting so many people at once, but it was the best thing for Yifan, Tao and Luhan and especially Chanyeol.

When Suho opened his eyes and realised that their own castle was surrounding them, he froze before screaming at Kai.

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT? THAT’S GOING TO HURT YOU!”

Kai simply shrugged, passing Baekhyun to Kyungsoo before collapsing.


	27. Chapter TwentySix

Suho and Yifan decided it would be best if they took everyone into the large living room of the castle, except for Chanyeol, who they carefully placed in Yixing’s bed, folding the duvet down onto his lap, so his torn apart chest was uncovered, when and if anyone needed to do anything. Yifan found it difficult to leave the room, but he slowly left, returning to the living room where everyone was. Despite what had happened to Yifan, he was still acting like a leader, which Suho was happy about. The entire two years they had been gone hadn’t changed them at all.

Luhan and Kai take up the two cushioned benches, Tao sitting in the armchair, with a large bowl on his lap. As it turned out, Tao still had a little black magic in his system, and his body was bringing up anything and everything in his stomach to try and get it out. Yifan moved to slump beside Kyungsoo, who’s sat in a window seat with Baekhyun resting on his lap, also facing the window and watching as the snow fell. It turned out, in the realm of Molaarg, days were weeks. So in the EXO kingdom, two weeks had passed and winter had appeared. Baekhyun pulls himself form Kyungsoo’s hold to shuffle towards Yifan, who gladly takes the younger within his arms.

“I missed this.” Baekhyun whispers, and Yifan buries his face in the younger princes slightly bloodied hair. There wasn’t many a time where Yifan allowed people to hug him, but right now, he was happy for anything and anyone to come near him.

“I did too.”

“Are you hurt?” Baekhyun asks, pulling away, appearing scared, as he didn’t want to hurt Yifan any further.

“I have a few welts and cuts, but I’m not branded like Tao.”

“TAO GOT BRANDED!?” Kyungsoo accidently yelled.

Yixing’s already standing up, Tao towering over him as he pulls off his shirt, showing the wound. They all gasp, Kai slowly coming back into consciousness. Yixing was already hovering his hands over the younger boys hip.

“No!” Tao cried, “Don’t heal it.”

The confusion shot through all of them. Tao had the brand of an X on his skin, and he didn’t want Yixing to heal it? Tao was adamant that he didn’t want healing.

“Kyungsoo, can you… can you brand an E and O either side?” Tao asked.

Kyungsoo took a few seconds to register what he had just been asked to do. Tao wanted an E and O to make EXO. With Chanyeol down, the process of branding could take a little longer without a fire manipulator. Instead, they would have to use metal and fire made with oak logs and old used up paper.

“But that’s torture TaoTao. I can’t do that to you.” Kyungsoo whispered.

 

That’s how Tao ended up, head on Kris’s lap whilst Yixing hovered his hands over his stomach and hip where the X was, healing whilst Kyungsoo burnt the skin on either side in the respective places. Tao had gotten used to the pain of getting hurt over the past two years he had been trapped, so the entire thin felt numb. Kyungsoo had drawn on the youngers skin beforehand, terrified he’d make a horrific mistake, because, yes, it was something Do Kyungsoo was capable to do. Baekhyun was facing away, forcing himself to continue helping with the task of cleaning Luhan’s wound alongside Suho, who was helping. Chanyeol was still in a coma like state, making Baekhyun unaware of his surrounding for most of the day. Tao was crying a little, glad that Yifan was there to wipe them away and make him seem stronger. All three boys were still weak, and Kai was slowly getting better from the teleportation.

Once Luhan’s wound was cleaned and respectively bandaged up, Suho left to check on Chanyeol, still waiting for some sign of life. They had gotten back at around seven o'clock in the morning, having fought Molaarg in the middle of the night. The time now was six o’clock at night. The serum was working perfectly on the others, so why wasn’t it working on Chanyeol? The leader sighed, filling the bowl on the side table up with lukewarm water and dipped the hand towel in, wringing it of any excess water.

“Baekhyun really needs you Channie. We really need you.”

Suho gently dabbed at the wound on his chest that still had a little bit of dried blood, wiping it away. Moving up to the youngers face, Suho couldn’t help but smile at Chanyeol’s rested face. Baekhyun hadn’t been in the room, staying away for as long as possible, still buried in deep denial that this ever happened. Practically every hours of the day, Baekhyun would fall asleep either on someone's shoulder or lap, seeking comfort every second of the day. Suho leaned down, pressing his ear against Chanyeol’s chest.

**Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump**

The leader flinched away and yelled for Yixing, him immediately appearing beside Kai who clearly teleported them from where they were in the castle.

“His…his heart!” Suho whisper-yelled, Yixing rushing over to place his ear on Chanyeol’s chest.

“He’s alive.” Yixing replied happily, forcing a health bar to appear over his body for Suho and Kai to see. The bar was full to about a quarter of the entire thing, much more than it had been over the last few days. When all three watched closer, they could see his chest moving, but not enough to see it clearly.

Suho thought it would be better if he didn’t tell Baekhyun of Chanyeol’s slow heartbeat, afraid of getting the youngers hopes up. Yixing and Kai promised no to tell anyone else, even if the secret was horribly hard to keep.

Over the next few day, Baekhyun was relying on the others to look after him. Luhan was still weak, but getter better every minute of the day. Kyungsoo and Kai had taken the responsibility of making sure the boy ate, whilst Yixing sat with him and slept with him, promising to keep away the nightmares. Baekhyun was still a child in his mind, and all he wanted was his Chanyeol… Sehun was slowly getting annoying, being extremely excited about getting the others thrones out of the shadows and back where they belonged next to the others.

Suho found himself buried in Tao’s chest in the kitchen, holding back tears that were threatening to fall. Tao’s chest had thankfully been healed fully now, the only thing being left behind were scars. They did have to be in the Throne room, but right now, knowing they were safe was more important.

“I’m home now mum.” Tao whispers, Suho gently hitting his bicep in response.

“I’m no ones mother.”

“You’ve been EXO’s since the day we were casted into this world.”

Suho sighs, but goes with it anyway, and follows Tao into the throne room, where everyone was getting the three old thrones back to where they belonged.

Luhan was at the front, using his telekinesis to gently lift the metal thrones into the air whilst Kyungsoo pushed them with ease. It was nice to see them again, even if they needed one hell of a dusting. Maybe Yixing would attack them with a duster later. They did this for all three before they were set down where they used to be. Everyone fell about laughing when Yifan sat sideways on his throne, legs flung over the side. Baekhyun smiled, finding it difficult to laugh but still smiling at the elders stupidity. Kai had gone out a few minutes ago, and found some wood in multiple sizes, giving them to Luhan and saying to chose one that would help him walk until his hip was a little better. It would take a few more sessions of Yixing’s healings for Luhan’s hip to be properly healed.

Tao was resting in the drawing room, Xiumin there to cool down the burns, also to soothe Tao’s crying. Kyungsoo had been a little worse than they expected, apologizing over and over again, until Tao told him to stop, telling him that he had actually asked Kyungsoo to do it.

That night, everyone except Chanyeol were sat in the drawing room, all sat on the floor around the wood fire. Tao and Yifan were being hugged slowly by everyone, Luhan having fallen asleep on Sehun a few hours ago. Sehun couldn’t take his eyes off of the elder. Kyungsoo had made some sort of beef dish that they all practically inhaled. Yifan, Luhan and Tao obviously ate less than the others, not really having the stomachs. Kyungsoo hoped it would take long for them to be able to eat a full meal. Suho and Yixing had given Tao all the coloured pencils and paper they could find around the castle, the younger be more than ecstatic to have the freedom to do whatever he wanted.

It was around midnight when they all went to bed.

Yixing and Baekhyun had left a little earlier, the prince of healing sitting Baekhyun on the edge of the bath and helping him wash his ash grey blood stained hair. Yixing didn’t mind doing this, watching as the red tinted water disappeared down the drain. The elder had leaned over the bath himself and Baekhyun helped him wash his own hair.

Baekhyun had crawled into Yixing’s bed alongside the elder, needing the elder to be there for him. Yixing didn’t mention anything about Chanyeol, just made sure that Baekhyun slept throughout the night. Suho voluntarily agreed to sleeping in the room with Chanyeol, keeping a small candle lit as he watched over the younger. He went and wiped his forehead again, and slowly mumbling to the unconscious boy, hoping and believing that if he continued to talk, Chanyeol would wake up.

Sehun and Luhan were cuddled together tight in Sehun’s bed, Tao and Yifan the same in Yifan’s old bed. Both pairs fell asleep so happy together.

Chen and Xiumin, however, were sat on the rooftop of the castle, watching as a meteorite shower just so happened to be tonight. Chen sighed heavily, falling back to lie down. The stars above them twinkled and Xiumin couldn’t help but feel glad that everyone was home. There’s a cough, and both Chen and Xiumin freeze, sitting up again to look at the person who had just joined them.

**Chanyeol.**

**Park Chanyeol.**


	28. Chapter TwentySeven

Chen covers his mouth, tears already steaming down his face. Xiumin just gapes at the younger.

“You were the only people I could find.”

“You’re alive!” Chen cries, standing up to hug the younger, holding him close. Just hearing his stronger heartbeat makes Chen cry harder. His heartbeat is actually there, and steady, showing that he was alive.

“You scared us all. We need to wake up Baekhyun.” Xiumin whispers.

 

The three slowly walk downstairs, as Chanyeol was struggling a little with his chest hurting. His arm ached too, from the injection of the serum. Chanyeol stays hides in the pantry next to the drawing room whilst both Chen and Xiumin wake up everyone else, ushering them into the drawing room. Xiumin tells the confused group to stay there, as he runs out of the room to get Chanyeol, who’s shaking.

When Chanyeol enters the room, there’s a burst of silence, and Suho is the first one to break, triggering the rest of them. They all crowd around him, ruffling his hair and hugging him tight.

All except Baekhyun.

Baekhyun’s just standing there, shell shocked at the entire thing.

His Chanyeol is standing there, alive.

**Alive.**

Once the group stepped away, Chanyeol leaned down to meet Baekhyun’s eyes.

The younger bumps their heads together, their eyes still locked. Their hair gets slightly meshed together, and Baekhyun finds himself unable to breath properly.

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun whispers, voice broken and shaky.

“Yeah?” Chanyeol replies, his voice deep and a bit hoarse from where he hadn’t used it in a couple days.

“I love you so much.”

Baekhyun’s sobbing into Chanyeol’s neck within seconds, the elder breaking out in laughter that cuts through the tears. The younger of the two is shaking, never realises he ever hold Baekhyun so tight. The wound on Chanyeol’s chest is now gone, all that’s left is the aching feeling. Chanyeol’s the first to pull away, leaning further down to capture Baekhyun’s lips. Yifan smiles, and whispers into Tao’s ear, reminding him that he’d said it was all going to turn out alright. A sudden wave of harsher sobs hit Baekhyun when he realises everyone is alive, and that’s when Luhan, Yifan and Tao join the hug. They all ended up in the floor, Chanyeol having Baek on his lap. Sehun sits next to him, resting on his shoulder whilst Luhan takes his hands.

They watch as Baekhyun falls asleep faster than they have ever seen. He’s softly snoring into Chanyeol's chest, arms.

“Now that Baekhyun’s asleep, I should tell you about our past.” Luhan says.

“But if it includes Baekhyun, shouldn’t he be awake to hear it?” Kai replies, Kyungsoo flicking his head.

“I think baekhyun been through enough. We’ll tell him another time. Luhan, go ahead.”

Luhan slowly continues his story.

“Baekhyun was a prisoner in the underworld. He was kept in the large prison we had for most of his life. He was only imprisoned because of his wings. Or lack off. Baekhyun and I were demons, not anymore. But he didn’t have any wings, causing him to be considered unworthy of living. I was the guard of his cell.”

Luhan shivers at the memory, groaning a little when he is forced to remember.

“I guarded him every night, just after my break. We were ranked by wings, mine spreading from here to Kyungsoo.”

In-between Luhan and Kyungsoo is Sehun, and the group gasp at the idea of how large his wings would’ve been.

“I was able to sneak three large chunks of bread from the dinner hall every night, and took them to Baekhyun. Because of what they did to him during the day, he was unable to open his mouth properly, and I had to break up the bread and slip it into his mouth for him to eat it. One day, we tried to escape, but were caught, and it was Molaarg who banished us from the underworld, he wanted us gone. Banishment was the ultimate punishment”

“When we were banished, someone caught us before our life ended. She… was beautiful. A goddess I guess. She cast us all into this world, making us the people we are. She chose our hair colours and chose our powers. Baekhyun was cast in before me, and I ended up on my knees, begging her to cast in you, Chanyeol. I needed someone that Baekhyun could trust and eventually, fall in love with, because it couldn’t be me. So that… our story. Me and Baekhyun were really demons and we… really struggled.”

“Why don’t I remember this?”

Luhan finches at Baekhyun’s voice, and promptly bursts into tears, the group stunned and moving into action.

“I didn’t want you to remember anything. What they did to you was awful. I made a deal. The deal was that that goddess woman would erase your memory along with everybody else, but I had to remember everything, and get telekinesis as my power.”

“What’s wrong with telekinesis?” Suho asks quietly.

“It makes the bond between mine and Baekhyun’s mind stronger. So I can connect your minds to mine and others in the group. Because of the bond, I had to keep things secret.”

Baekhyun moves his legs over Luhan’s lap to rest there, and the elder doesn’t mind at all. Whilst rubbing Baekhyun’s thigh, the group talk over random memories, like the ones where Kai recalls the games of hide and seek, especially the ones where Xiumin fell asleep tucked into a cupboard or something.

They end up all going back to bed. Beforehand, though, Kyungsoo offers to push some of their beds together, so that the pairs in the castle could sleep together.

They ends up with Yixing and Suho in one bed, Chanyeol and Baekhyun in another but in the same room.

In Yifan’s room, they have Luhan and Sehun, Yifan and Tao. Kai and Kyungsoo are in their usual room and Chen had skipped along to Xiumin’s room. They would have to sort out the rooms another day, but tonight, it was just for rest.

ChanBaek’s legs are tangled much like their fingers. They were as close as humanly possible. They could feel each others heartbeats against their chests, beating as one. Suho and Yixing can’t help but watch over them as they fall asleep.

“Can I ask you a question?” Suho asks when they finally lay back against the mattress and pull the duvet closer.

“Go ahead.” Yixing replies.

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

Yixing stops, hallway through pulling his shirt over his head. It’s like he forgot how to function.

“Of course.”

Suho giggles like a love drunk teenager, and snuggles closer to Yixing’s chest… and they were asleep within seconds.

Little did they know, the same question and same answers were being asked between Kai and Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo said yes to Kai, and Xiumin said yes to Chen.

 

For the first time in two years…

All was peaceful, in the realm of EXO


	29. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this, it makes me soooooo happy!  
> Remember, if you want to send me fanart, you can! My tumblr is imyourbiaswreaker or just BiasWreaker and my picture is Tao and his dog.
> 
> Thank You!!!!

_One year later -_

 

Baekhyun was the earliest to awaken, sun filtering through the curtains onto his bare chest. Sitting up, he gently scratched at his chest with short nails, looking around the room at nothing. He flicked his wrist an inch, little stars of light surrounding his hands until he wished them away. It made it look like his hands were immersed in a galaxy. Baekhyun no longer needed to do this, as there was nothing in the world that could take away their powers.

There’s a burst of yelling down the hallway that wakes up the boy led next to him. Chanyeol sits up slowly, waiting until the owner of the yelling enters the room.

“Me, Luhan and Sehun are racing to the kitchen, wanna join?” Kai pants, jumping up and down with excitement.

Baekhyun jumps out of bed, Chanyeol joining him. Together, the six boys race towards the kitchen where the others are gathered and waiting for breakfast.

Pancakes, because, yes, princes eat pancakes. Still.

Sehun won the race, Luhan second and jumping onto the younger’s back, trying to claim himself the winner, despite how Kai is now jabbing at the elders sides. Baekhyun the last one to reach the kitchen, practically falling to the floor when Kai changes his target to him. Laughter is echoing through the once quiet hallways, and the castle seemed full of colour. They all sit around the large table, passing plates and glasses to each other.

“What’s the agenda for today then?” Kyungsoo asks whilst Baekhyun refills the empty jug of water with Chanyeol’s help.

“Chen wants to make flower crowns.”

Yifan groans and presses his head against the table, causing the group to laugh.

“You look good in a flower crown!” Tao giggles, getting louder once Yifan slaps his back.

 

And that's how they end up in the country fields, Luhan, Yixing and Chen sat on the grass making the daisy crowns whilst the others play some sort of game. There’s a gentle tap on Luhan’s shoulder, and he turns to face a little girl, no older than five.

“Mummy says I could come and make crowns with you?” She asks, looking down and shying away. Luhan takes her hands and leads her down to sit on his lap. The little girl watches as Yixing makes a white crown, much smaller than usual, and places atop her head.

“Beautiful” He says, making the little girl giggle.

A few minutes later, they see a woman and presumably her son walking up to the field, and the little girl jumps out of Luhan’s lap with a freshly made crown, running to give it to her mother, who laughs and keeps it on her head, whilst Chen is, once again, tackling Yifan.

Kai had taken a walk down to see his villager friend, Taemin, who was a skilled inventor who also lived with his four friends, Jonghyun, Minho, Key and Onew. Taemin had recently made something called a camera, which could capture any moment and keep it in colour. Whilst he was their, Kai acquired one of these camera’s, and Taemin said to bring back the film once he was done, and he’d develop them for the prince. Kai thanked him, before running back to show the others. By then, a large group of kids had joined them, and were way too busy playing with Xiumin to care about the camera. Whereas Baekhyun, was intrigued and wanted to learn more.

Once all the princes have a flower crown, they ask Minho, who had joined them in the flower making, to take the picture for them. Minho takes more than one, in case they weren’t perfect. Taemin would have to process them once the entire roll of film was full.

In the middle of the day, it begins to rain, and the princes take the time to help the children get back home safe, which ends up in them getting back to the castle, soaked to the bone. Yifan and Tao decide to keep their crowns on, actually beginning to like them.

To this day, Luhan, Yifan, Tao, Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Chen have scars.

Chen’s entire body is still covered in Lichtenberg figure, which Xiumin loves, and will love them forever. To the eldest, it makes Chen seem like the fighter he really is.

Yifan and Tao shared pretty much the same lattice shape scars across their chests, as well as Tao’s brand, which he now loved, because he said the words EXO and shows that he lives for the soul purpose of EXO.

Baekhyun’s stomach was covered in intricate, claw shaped scars that were red and dragged from left to right, whilst Chanyeol had a mark on his chest from the arrow attack.

Luhan, of course, has his hip scar. It’s more like dent, where the skin was unable to heal properly, but Yixing did his best, and Sehun still thinks Luhan’s beautiful.

Together, EXO will rule their realm until the day they die.

Because EXO are rulers.

Because EXO are one.


End file.
